Grammy-winning South African pop star Tyla has removed Lagos from her upcoming APOP World Tour, following intense online backlash and calls for a boycott over recent xenophobic attacks targeting Nigerians in South Africa.
An inspection of the singer’s official website on Friday confirmed that the Nigerian show, initially listed for 22 December, has been quietly omitted. Whilst the updated schedule preserves all scheduled legs across Europe, North America, and South Africa, the Lagos event is no longer present.
The controversy began shortly after the tour was announced on Monday, with Lagos featured as the sole Nigerian leg before concluding in Cape Town and Johannesburg in early January. The announcement immediately sparked heated online debates. Many Nigerians demanded a boycott of South African artists until violence against foreign nationals ceases, whilst others argued that entertainers should not be penalised for wider geopolitical conflicts.
Escalating the dispute, activist Martins Otse, widely known as VeryDarkMan, threatened on Thursday to mobilise his “Ratel Movement” to actively block the show.
“TYLA SHOW WILL NOT BE HAPPENING IN NIGERIA. This is a message to SOUTH AFRICANS. WE ARE AFRICANS AND WE DONT UNALIVE OUR OWN… WE ARE STANDING IN SOLIDARITY TO SAY NO TO THE PROMOTERS AND CELEBRITIES FROM SOUTH AFRICA WHO HAVE REFUSED TO SPEAK UP AGAINST THESE ATTACKS ON OTHER AFRICANS LIVING IN SOUTH AFRICA,” Otse posted on Facebook.
However, former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore rejected the boycott calls, maintaining that public frustration should not target individual artists.
“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, insisting that “Tyla’s Lagos concert must go on.”
The tour adjustment coincides with heightened diplomatic friction and public distress following fresh reports of violent incidents against Nigerians in South Africa, including the recent death of Chika Ibe in Cape Town.
At the time of writing, neither Tyla’s management nor the local concert promoters have issued a statement detailing whether the show has been formally cancelled or rescheduled.