Nigeria’s Detty December season has become one of Africa’s most lucrative live entertainment windows, attracting global stars, thousands of international visitors, and millions of naira in concert spending. This year, however, the planned Lagos stop of South African Grammy winner Tyla’s APOP World Tour has become caught in a growing political controversy that is testing the balance between business, culture and diplomacy.
Shortly after Tyla announced Lagos as one of the African stops on her world tour, alongside Cape Town and Johannesburg, calls for a boycott emerged across social media. The backlash is tied to renewed anger over xenophobic attacks against Nigerians and other African migrants in South Africa, with many critics arguing that hosting a major South African artist in Nigeria at this moment sends the wrong message.
Content creator Solomon Buchi urged Nigerians to reject the concert, arguing that Tyla has remained silent despite repeated attacks on Nigerians. Social media activist VeryDarkMan also opposed the event, warning promoters against proceeding with the show. On the other side of the debate, activist Omoyele Sowore argued that artists should not be held responsible for government failures, insisting that political grievances should be directed at elected leaders rather than musicians.
