(Tyla. Photo by Daily Post)
Tyla Laura Seethal, a South African Grammy-winning artist better known as Tyla, has pulled Lagos off her APOP World Tour itinerary in response to calls from certain Nigerians to boycott her planned show due to xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in South Africa.
On Friday, a study of the singer’s official tour schedule revealed that the Lagos event, which had been set for December 22, is no longer on the itinerary.
The updated schedule maintained Tyla’s planned performances across Europe, North America and South Africa, but Nigeria was omitted from the list of destinations.
The development came shortly after Tyla had announced Lagos as the only Nigerian city included in the tour, ahead of the final legs of the concert series in Cape Town on January 4 and Johannesburg on January 9.
That announcement had generated mixed reactions among Nigerians online, with some calling for the concert’s cancellation, arguing that South African entertainers should not be hosted in Nigeria while Nigerians continue to face reported xen0phobic att@cks in South Africa.
Others opposed calls for a boycott, insisting that musicians should not be held responsible for political issues or actions carried out by other individuals.
The controversy also drew reactions from political activist and 2027 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore, who criticised attempts to hold Tyla responsible for xen0phobic incidents.
In a post shared online, Sowore urged Nigerians to direct their anger at their real enemies, arguing that a talented musician should not be held vicariously liable for the crimes of xen0phobia, insisting that Tyla’s Lagos concert must go ahead.
The debate escalated further after activist Martins Otse, widely known as VeryDarkMan, threatened to mobilise members of his “Ratel Movement” to stop the concert from holding.
In a statement shared online, he declared that the Tyla show would not be happening in Nigeria, addressing South Africans directly and stating that Africans do not h@rm their own, in contrast to what he described as South Africans t@rgeting other African nationals over claims that they are taking local jobs.
He said the movement stood in solidarity against promoters and celebrities from South Africa who have refused to speak out against the att@cks on other Africans living in the country, using hashtags condemning xen0phobic vi0lence.
Tyla’s decision to remove Lagos from the tour schedule comes amid renewed concern over the safety of Nigerians residing in South Africa, following reports of fresh xen0phobic att@cks and the d£aths of Nigerian nationals, including Chika Ibe in Cape Town.