After getting a lot of bad press for a viral ad that many Nigerians said was racist, Bokku Mart has apologized to the public.
According to Saturday Vanguard, the uproar started when a female influencer named Defolah appeared in a promotional video on the supermarket’s social media page on Tuesday.
In the video, she used the term “Omo Igbo” in a way that many people thought was insulting to Nigerians from the South-East.
Defolah remarked in a now-deleted video that “No Omo Igbo can cheat me” while talking about how cheap Bokku Mart’s items are. The message soon made people angry online, leading to charges of bias and calls to boycott the store.
The influencer on social media has subsequently said sorry.
Bokku Mart called the comment “offensive and hurtful” in a statement issued yesterday on its X account. It also said that the message did not fit with its company principles.
“We are really upset and disappointed about a video that was recently released online that included rude and inappropriate language in it.
“The language used in the video was not acceptable and was very different from Bokku’s values,” the firm added.
The retailer said that the video that caused the problem came from an outside influencer and was broadcast by a third-party agency without the store’s permission.
The corporation said, “The content came from an outside source and was published by a third-party media company without our team’s review. We take full responsibility for its appearance on our platforms.”
Bokku Mart said that to keep this from happening again, it has since put in place stronger content review standards and better control of vendors.
The statement went on to say, “We have since made our processes for approving content and keeping an eye on vendors stronger to make sure this never happens again.”
The corporation stated it stands firmly against all forms of prejudice and is committed to inclusivity and national unity.
We are more than just a store; we are a proud Nigerian company that cares about our people and communities.
“Our goal is to improve the lives of all Nigerians by making sure they can get good products at reasonable prices.”
“We stand firmly against all forms of discrimination and celebrate the rich diversity of our country,” the corporation said.
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