South Africa's Tyla scraps Nigerian leg of global concert tour amid mounting boycott demands

South African Grammy-winning singer Tyla has scrapped plans to perform in Lagos as part of her APOP World Tour, just days after her scheduled December 22 concert in Nigeria sparked widespread calls for a boycott due to ongoing xenophobic attacks against Nigerians in South Africa.

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A review of Tyla's official tour website on Friday revealed that the Lagos stop, initially set for December 22, had been deleted from the itinerary, leaving the rest of the tour schedule intact, with all previously announced dates in Europe, North America, and South Africa still on track.

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The updated tour schedule now omits Nigeria, with the tour set to conclude with performances in Cape Town on January 4 and Johannesburg on January 9, as previously announced, but without the Lagos concert.

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Prior to the removal of the Lagos stop, Tyla had unveiled the APOP World Tour, with Lagos listed as the sole Nigerian destination, prompting heated reactions on social media, where some Nigerians urged a boycott of the concert in protest against the xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in South Africa.

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Some social media users argued that South African artists should not be allowed to perform in Nigeria as long as reports of attacks on Nigerians continued, while others maintained that musicians should not be held accountable for political or social issues.

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The controversy surrounding the concert intensified on Thursday when activist Martins Otse, also known as VeryDarkMan, threatened to mobilize his "Ratel Movement" to stop the concert if it proceeded as planned.

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In a Facebook post, Otse stated, "TYLA SHOW WILL NOT BE HAPPENING IN NIGERIA," and emphasized that the movement was standing in solidarity against the promoters and celebrities from South Africa who had failed to condemn the attacks on other Africans living in South Africa.

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Otse's post included the hashtags #NOTOXENOPHOBICATTACKS and #ratelmovement, and reiterated the message "SAYNOTOXENOPHOBICATTACKS."

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Meanwhile, 2027 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore, had opposed the boycott campaign, arguing that Nigerians should not blame Tyla for the xenophobic attacks and instead direct their anger at the real enemies.

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Sowore took to X to express his views, writing that "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," and adding that "Tyla's Lagos concert must go on."

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The removal of the Lagos concert from the tour schedule comes amid renewed concerns over the treatment of Nigerians in South Africa, following reports of alleged xenophobic attacks and the death of Nigerian nationals, including Chika Ibe in Cape Town.

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As of the time of this report, neither Tyla nor her management had publicly explained the reason behind the removal of the Lagos concert from the tour schedule, and the concert promoters had not announced a cancellation or postponement of the show.