Portable loses 100 thousand followers after going against nationwide protest

Nigerian street artist Habeeb Okikiola, popularly known as Portable, faced a significant backlash after a viral video showed him making derogatory remarks about hunger protesters.

In the video, the musician referred to the protesters as “poor and lazy,” suggesting that if they were hard-working, they wouldn’t have time to protest on the street.

The statement has led to widespread outrage among his fans and a notable decline in his social media following.

Portable, who previously boasted a follower count of 2.9 million on Instagram has seen the number drop to 2.8 million in a short time.

Fans took to social media to express their displeasure and organise a mass unfollow campaign.

“If you see work you fit do? Not only bad government, make them end bad people too. Those people wey dey drop bad governance on my post and ask me why I no protest. Poor people and poor thinking,” Portable stated in the controversial video.

His remarks were in response to a question on why he wasn’t participating in the ongoing protests against bad governance in Nigeria.

In another video, the artist claimed there were no protests in Sango, Ogun State, where he resides. He explained that previous demonstrations had been ignored by the government, prompting him and those in his area to focus on their daily hustle instead.

The responses were immediate. Users like @tijani_saeed declared, “We don cancel portable button>>>>>>”, while @i_am_timiboy urged others, “Let’s report this MuMu >>>>>>>”.

Another user, @ere_blinkz, echoed the sentiment, “Report this guy acct”.

Also, @mesk_ana1 called for collective action, “Let we all report his account, no leave his account without reporting, report and unfollow him, we made him the celebrity he think he is so let’s take the celebrity back from him.”