South African Grammy-winning singer Tyla has removed Lagos from the schedule of her APOP World Tour following calls by some Nigerians to boycott her planned concert over renewed concerns about xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in South Africa.
A review of the singer’s official tour itinerary on Friday showed that the Lagos concert, originally scheduled for December 22, had been removed from the list of tour dates.
The revised schedule retains performances across Europe, North America and South Africa but no longer includes Nigeria.
The development comes days after Tyla announced Lagos as the only Nigerian stop on the tour before concluding the concert series with performances in Cape Town on January 4 and Johannesburg on January 9.
Her initial announcement sparked sharp reactions on social media, with some Nigerians calling for the concert to be cancelled in protest against recurring xenophobic attacks on Nigerians living in South Africa.
Supporters of the boycott argued that South African entertainers should not be welcomed in Nigeria while attacks on foreign African nationals continue in their home country.
Others, however, opposed the campaign, maintaining that entertainers should not be blamed for political issues or criminal acts committed by individuals.
The controversy also drew the attention of political activist and African Action Congress presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore, who defended the singer and urged Nigerians not to direct their anger at her.
“Nigerians should direct their anger at their real enemies… No one should hold a talented musician like @Tyllaaaaaaa vicariously liable for the crimes of xenophobia,” Sowore wrote on X, adding that “Tyla’s Lagos concert must go on.”
The debate intensified after social media activist Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, threatened to mobilise members of his “Ratel Movement” to prevent the concert from taking place.
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In a statement posted on Facebook, he declared that the show would not hold in Nigeria, describing the move as a protest against xenophobic attacks on other African nationals in South Africa.
He called on South African celebrities to publicly condemn the attacks and expressed solidarity with victims, using the hashtag #NotoXenophobicAttacks.
Tyla’s decision to remove Lagos from the tour schedule comes amid renewed reports of xenophobic violence in South Africa and growing concern over the safety of Nigerians living in the country, including reports of the killing of Nigerian national Chika Ibe in Cape Town.
