The arrest of social media personality Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, has triggered a wave of digital outrage and protest, yet its tangible impact on one of Nigeria’s leading financial institutions—Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank)—appears negligible.
VeryDarkMan, known for his unfiltered takes and audacious activism, was recently detained under circumstances that remain unclear. While speculations swirl around the involvement of agencies like the EFCC or DSS, or even a gospel artiste, a more curious target has emerged in the fallout: GTBank.
Members of VeryDarkMan’s loyal online fanbase, dubbed “The Ratel Gang,” have taken to social media in protest, calling for a boycott of the bank. Several users posted dramatic videos of themselves destroying their GTBank ATM cards and vowing to close their accounts, alleging the bank’s complicity in the arrest.
However, analysts suggest that this uproar is unlikely to shake the financial foundation of GTBank. With over 32.8 million retail customers as of 2023, GTBank’s reach is vast, but its financial strength lies predominantly with institutional clients, state governments, multinational corporations, and organizations with salary account mandates. These entities contribute the majority of the bank’s deposits and are not part of the card-cutting crusade.
Even the projected cost implications of the protest are relatively minor. If 10% of the bank’s retail customers—about 3.28 million individuals—cut their cards, the replacement cost would amount to ₦3.28 billion. In contrast, GTBank’s profit before tax in 2023 stood at a staggering ₦609.3 billion. The protest, while loud online, is a financial ripple, not a wave.
GTBank’s resilience is further reinforced by its diversification into digital banking, fintech, and remittance services. Despite some challenges during its recent migration to a new core banking system (Finacle), the bank has shown commitment to long-term innovation and customer service enhancement.
While the digital protest rages on, reality paints a different picture. At the ongoing GTCO Food and Drinks Festival in Lagos, the atmosphere was festive. The venue was packed, traffic stretched along Ligali Ayorinde, and attendees—including the writer of this piece—used GTBank cards freely for transactions. Business continued as usual, and the bank’s presence remained firmly entrenched.
The incident underscores a broader trend: the gap between online sentiment and real-world impact. While social media provides a potent platform for expression, it often lacks the structure and strategy needed to effect lasting institutional change.
In the end, GTBank is unlikely to flinch. The greater lesson may lie in the need for more strategic, informed activism—one that transcends impulsive displays and understands the systems it seeks to challenge.
As the hashtags fade and the algorithms shift, GTBank, like many other legacy institutions, will carry on—largely unaffected by the noise.