Nigerian street artist Habeeb Okikiola, popularly known as Portable, has faced significant backlash after a viral video surfaced in which he made derogatory remarks about hunger protesters.
In the video, Portable referred to the protesters as “poor and lazy,” implying that if they were hardworking, they wouldn’t have time to protest on the streets.
His statement has sparked widespread outrage among his fans, leading to a notable decline in his social media following.
Portable, who once boasted 2.9 million followers on Instagram, has seen his count drop to 2.8 million in a short period.
Fans quickly took to social media to express their displeasure and organize 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 came in response to a question about why he wasn’t participating in the ongoing protests against bad governance in Nigeria.
In another video, Portable 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 backlash was swift. 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.”
