South African Grammy-winning singer Tyla has removed Lagos from the schedule of her A*POP World Tour, days after growing calls by some Nigerians to boycott her planned concert over renewed xenophobic attacks against Nigerians living in South Africa.
A check of the singer’s official tour schedule on Friday showed that the December 22 Lagos concert had been removed, while all other previously announced dates across Europe, North America and South Africa remain on the itinerary.
Boycott Campaign Gained Momentum
The controversy began shortly after Tyla announced Lagos as the only Nigerian stop on her global tour.
The announcement triggered heated reactions on social media, with many Nigerians arguing that no South African artiste should perform in Nigeria while reports of xenophobic attacks against Nigerians continue in South Africa. Others maintained that musicians should not be blamed for political or social issues beyond their control.
VDM Threatened to Stop Concert
The backlash intensified after activist VeryDarkMan (Martins Otse) threatened to mobilise members of his Ratel Movement to prevent the concert from taking place.
He said the planned protest was aimed at showing solidarity with Nigerians and other Africans allegedly targeted in the latest wave of xenophobic attacks in South Africa.
No Official Explanation Yet
As of the time of filing this report, neither Tyla nor her management had explained why the Lagos concert was removed from the tour schedule.
Likewise, the concert promoters had not announced whether the show had been cancelled or postponed.