Sowore Defends Tyla’s Lagos Concert Amid Xenophobia Backlash

(Omoyele Sowore. Photo Credit: PM News)

Omoyele Sowore, a human rights campaigner, has rejected efforts to prevent South African singer Tyla from performing in Lagos due to persistent xenophobic crimes against Nigerians in her nation.

According to Sowore, Nigerians shouldn’t blame the Grammy-winning singer for the brutality and shortcomings of South Africa’s political establishment.

He made the statement on Wednesday in a post on social media while reacting to growing calls for Nigerians to boycott Tyla’s Lagos concert.

According to him, Nigerians should direct their anger at political leaders whose failures created the conditions for xenophobic violence, naming President Bola Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa among those who should be held accountable.

He accused Tinubu and the APC of destroying Nigeria and reducing its citizens to second-class status across Africa and beyond, while also blaming Ramaphosa and other South African leaders for failing to address the conditions fuelling attacks against foreigners.

Sowore stated that no one should hold a talented musician like Tyla vicariously liable for the crimes of xenophobia, arguing that artistes should not be blamed for politicians’ failures unless there is clear evidence they supported or enabled such actions.

He then declared that Tyla’s Lagos concert must go on.

The controversy erupted after Tyla announced that her A*POP World Tour would include a performance in Lagos on 22 December.

Development that triggered outrage among some Nigerians who argued that South African entertainers should not be welcomed while Nigerians continue to suffer xenophobic attacks in their country.

Some critics also accused Tyla of failing to publicly condemn the attacks and called for a peaceful boycott of her performance, while others argued that punishing an individual artiste for her government’s failures would amount to collective punishment.

The debate follows renewed anger over xenophobic attacks in South Africa and the reported death of Nigerian national Chika Ibe in Cape Town.