Nelson Mandela memes, Amapiano jabs flood X after Nigeria vs South Africa AFCON match

It was a dramatic clash characterised by VAR chaos, unrelenting drama, online taunts and gripping pitch action.

On the brink of elimination, Nigeria put themselves instead on the cusp of glory as the Super Eagles nudged past South Africa into the AFCON final, advancing through the semifinals on a penalty shootout after a 1-1 regulation draw.

Substitute Kelechi Iheanacho scored to give Nigeria a 4-2 penalty shootout victory over South Africa after a jaw-dropping semi-final thriller in Bouake.

Africa Cup of Nations has repeatedly been dubbed as the 'Best Tournament in the World' and last evening's epic clash proved to be just that - pure, unadulterated entertainment.

After the game ended, with the Super Eagles thrashing their arch-rivals Bafana Bafana, the X platform was particularly a hotbed of memes and jabs as both countries hilariously tore into each other.

Regularly touted as two of Africa's greatest sporting and cultural nations, who have, in the past, spurred over music superiority and other mundane stuff, Nigerians and South Africans thunderously hammered each other on X, with the memes flying off the shelves, ranging from Nelson Mandela to Fela Kuti to Amapiano.

One South African wrote, "Nigerians hate going home so much that they’re going to stay in Ivory Coast until the last day of the tournament. Migration specialists!"

And then was met with a quick reply: "You cannot shame the shameless. To think you can troll Nigerians is a fallacy. We troll ourselves everyday. Nothing you can say to us can hurt us.... And, at least, we have a country. Ya'll still a colony!"

Another Nigerian said, "You know they are hurt when they tweet in full English. Go back to your Bathong Wena nonsense!"

Nelson Mandela, a South African symbol of global peace, was also dragged into the madness, especially after someone tweeted, "TATA PLEASE HELP!" while tagging the X handle of the late democracy icon.

"Few things Nigeria took away from South Africa," a Nigerian fan wrote. "We took their women. We took Amapiano we turned it to Ourpiano. We took Cape Town. We took the AFCON. We took Mandela. We took Hamba wena. We took Tyla and give them Sam Larry! God it has been you only!"

As the taunts continued getting hotter, more and more receipts were unleashed, both sides unrelenting in their attacks.

"South Africans lose to Nigerians so much, even the DJ at the Grammys played a Nigerian song (Fela Kuti) instead of a South African song after Tyla won that little Award!" one Nigerian wrote.

The two countries' music supremacy war made its way to the conversation too, with Nigerians taking every opportunity to taut their Afrobeat dominance for hours on end.

"We have Burna Boy, Davido, Wizkid, Tems, Ayra Starr, Rema, Asake, Omah Lay, Fireboy.... Who do you have!?? Who can mention two South African musicians!? Just TWO!" someone railed.

At that juncture, a Jamaican X user joined the fray, asking Nigerians to tone it down and "show some respect for Nelson Mandela".

"Stop it right there, Rastaman!" one Nigerian told him. "Don't think we cannot also come for that your Bob Marley!"

As it all came to a head, Mercy Abang, a Nigerian fan, summed all the madness in one Chinua Achebe quote, "Being a Nigerian is abysmally frustrating and unbelievably exciting."

The Super Eagles beat Bafana Bafana (The Boys) 2-0 in a 2000 semi-final in Nigeria, 4-0 in a group match four years later in Tunisia and 2-1 in a 2019 quarter-final in Egypt.