Nigeria date removed from South African pop star Tyla’s world tour after boycott petition
The South African pop star Tyla has removed the Lagos leg of her world tour after a petition urged Nigerians to boycott her concert over anti-migrant protests in South Africa, according to BBC News.
The petition, circulated online in recent days, called on the Grammy-winning singer not to perform in Nigeria while tensions persisted over the treatment of African migrants, including Nigerian nationals, in South Africa. Reports of demonstrations and the targeting of foreign-owned businesses in parts of South Africa have periodically resurfaced since the widely documented wave of xenophobic violence in 2015 and 2019.
Anti-migrant sentiment in South Africa has long complicated relations between Pretoria and Abuja. Nigeria has historically responded to major incidents of anti-Nigerian violence with diplomatic measures, including the recall of its high commissioner in 2019 and calls for boycotts of South African businesses. Tensions have flared periodically over the past decade, prompting repeated reassurances from Pretoria.
Tyla, a South African singer raised in Johannesburg, rose to international prominence with her 2023 single “Water,” which won the Grammy Award for Best African Music Performance in 2024. She is part of a new wave of South African artists finding global audiences through crossover pop and Afrobeats-adjacent sounds.
It remains unclear whether other African dates on the tour will be affected or whether a Lagos show could be rescheduled at a later stage.
Sources
This report was written from coverage published by the following news organisations. Follow the links for the original reporting.
More From Society & Culture
Uganda: Experts Caution That Twice-Yearly HIV Injection Is Not a Vaccine
Laws, Stigma, and Exclusion: The Hidden Barriers to HIV Care for Transgender Africans
