Tyla pulls Lagos date from A*POP World Tour after Nigerian backlash
Tyla has removed the Lagos stop from her A*POP World Tour following severe online backlash and boycott calls from users in Nigeria.
The A*POP World Tour will no longer stop in Lagos on 22 December 2026, after a wave of online backlash in Nigeria forced the date to disappear from the official schedule.
The tour, announced alongside Tyla’s eponymous album released on 24 July, originally featured three African dates: Cape Town, Johannesburg and Lagos. By 31 July the Lagos slot vanished from the tour page, while the South African shows remained. Neither Tyla, her management nor the promoter have issued a public comment, a silence noted by both Kbc and Bona.
Media additions
Backlash on social media
Across X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and Instagram, Nigerian users argued that the singer should not profit from an audience while remaining silent on the xenophobic attacks that have plagued Nigerians living in South Africa. Social commentator Solomon Buchi urged a boycott, framing the concert as a test of whether entertainment can proceed while anti‑Nigerian hostility remains unresolved. The criticism was amplified by popular social‑media activist “VeryDarkMan”, who threatened to mobilise his “Ratel Movement” to block the show.
The outcry was not uniform. Some commenters, including Omoyele Sowore on X, warned against holding the artist personally liable for government‑driven violence. Do2dtun, a media personality, took a harder line, demanding that the Grammy‑winning star “take accountability” for the situation, as reported by the BBC Pidgin and echoed in KBC.
According to Bona, the controversy escalated to alleged death threats directed at Tyla, with some online posts claiming threats to “set her ablaze” if she entered Nigeria. The outlet noted that the timing of the threats coincided with the removal of the Lagos date, though Tyla’s team has not confirmed the motive.
Historical and regional context
The backlash revives memories of the 2019 xenophobic violence that led Burna Boy to warn against dismissing anti‑immigrant sentiment as “unreal”. Those comments resurfaced in the debate, giving weight to Nigerian users who view the Lagos announcement as a litmus test for pan‑African solidarity.
South Africa’s anti‑immigration protests earlier this year, described by Kbc as a “wave of xenophobic attacks and anti‑immigration protests”, have drawn condemnation from several African governments and human‑rights groups. The unrest even spilled into sport, with some African fans withdrawing support for the national football team during the 2026 FIFA World Cup as a form of protest.
Why the Lagos date mattered
For Tyla, the Lagos concert would have marked her first headline performance in Nigeria, despite a 2024 visit during the country’s “Detty December” celebrations, where she joined Rema, Ayra Starr and Tems on stage.
Timeline of the controversy
- 24 July 2026 – Tyla releases the album A*POP and announces the global tour, including Lagos on 22 December.
- Late July 2026 – Nigerian social‑media users begin posting boycott calls, citing South African xenophobia.
- 31 July 2026 – The Lagos date disappears from the official tour page; no formal statement from Tyla or her team.
- Early August 2026 – Reports emerge of alleged death threats and intensified online hostility, as documented by Bona.
What’s next for the tour
Despite the Lagos uncertainty, the remainder of the African leg proceeds as planned. Tyla is still scheduled to headline in Cape Town and Johannesburg later in December, with the rest of the world tour covering multiple European cities. Fans are left awaiting clarification on whether the Nigerian concert will be rescheduled or permanently cancelled.
For ongoing updates on Tyla’s tour and related cultural developments, see our culture coverage page.
