Grammy-winning South African singer Tyla has silently removed Lagos from the itinerary of her upcoming ‘A-Pop’ world tour, following a wave of online criticism linked to renewed reports of xenophobic attacks targeting Nigerians in South Africa.
The singer had announced on Monday that her world tour would include a Lagos performance on December 22, alongside dates across Europe, North America and South Africa.
However, the announcement was met with a divided response from Nigerian social media users, with many calling for a boycott of the planned Lagos concert.
The backlash was largely driven by recent reports of xenophobic violence against Nigerians in South Africa, reigniting long-standing tensions between the two nations.
While some Nigerians argued that music should be kept separate from diplomatic disputes, others insisted that Tyla could not be welcomed to Lagos without first publicly addressing the attacks on their compatriots.
Media personality Do2dtun questioned who was behind the promotion of the Lagos concert, while activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore urged Nigerians to channel their frustration towards the country’s political leadership rather than the singer.
Although Tyla and her management offered no public response to the online reactions, checks by TheCable Lifestyle revealed that Lagos had been quietly removed from the tour’s official ticket-selling platform. The December 22 date was no longer listed, with tickets available only for the South African shows and other international stops.
**The initial tour dates were:**
October 12: Paris, France
October 13: Amsterdam, Netherlands
October 15: London, UK
October 18: Glasgow, UK
October 19: Manchester, UK
October 22: Brussels, Belgium
October 24: Düsseldorf, Germany
October 25: Frankfurt, Germany
October 27: Berlin, Germany
October 29: Stockholm, Sweden
October 30: Oslo, Norway
November 1: Copenhagen, Denmark
November 12: Sacramento, CA
November 13: San Francisco, CA
November 15: Vancouver, BC
November 17: Seattle, WA
November 20: Denver, CO
November 22: Chicago, IL
November 25: Boston, MA
November 26: Toronto, ON
November 28: New York, NY
December 2: Washington, DC
December 5: Tampa, FL
December 6: Atlanta, GA
December 9: Irving, TX
December 10: Houston, TX
December 11: Austin, TX
December 14: Phoenix, AZ
December 15: San Diego, CA
December 16: Los Angeles, CA
December 19: Las Vegas, NV
December 22: Lagos, Nigeria *(removed)*
January 4: Cape Town, South Africa
January 9: Johannesburg, South Africa