Plans by South African music star Tyla to perform in Lagos as part of her global tour have sparked public debate, with calls for a boycott amid renewed tensions over xenophobic incidents targeting Nigerians in South Africa.
The Grammy Award-winning artist announced her APOP World Tour, which will take her across Europe, North America and Africa. She is scheduled to perform in Lagos on December 22 before rounding off the tour with dates in Cape Town and Johannesburg in January.
The announcement has drawn mixed reactions on social media platform X, following recent reports of xenophobia in South Africa and the reported death of a Nigerian national, Chika Ibe, while in custody in Cape Town.
Supporters of a boycott argue that hosting South African artists in Nigeria at this time is insensitive. They say withholding support would serve as a symbolic protest against xenophobic violence and push public figures to condemn the attacks.
Others oppose the boycott, saying entertainment should be kept separate from politics. They argue that individual artists are not government representatives and that cultural exchanges between Nigerian and South African musicians have continued despite diplomatic friction.
Despite the online debate, venue bookings and tour preparations for the Lagos concert are said to be ongoing. The controversy underscores lingering public sensitivity over the treatment of Nigerians abroad and its impact on people-to-people relations.
Conversely, opposing voices maintain that cultural and entertainment events should remain separate from political disputes. Critics of the boycott emphasize that individual artists are not political representatives and note that cross-border artistic collaborations between Nigerian and South African musicians remain common practice.
The controversy highlights ongoing public sensitivity surrounding foreign relations and the treatment of Nigerians abroad, even as venue bookings and tour preparations proceed.
