Nigerian influencer and human rights activist Oruche Ogeamara Precious, widely known online as Mama Pee, issued a stern warning to Grammy-winning South African artiste Tyla against her planned Lagos concert.
Mama Pee’s outburst, posted on Thursday, comes amid escalating tension between Nigeria and South Africa over a renewed wave of xenophobic violence that began in April 2026.
Circulating videos showing attacks on African migrants and the deaths of several Nigerian nationals at the hands of South African citizens have reignited long-simmering anger across the West African nation.
The controversy was triggered by the announcement of Tyla’s ‘A POP World Tour,’ a 34-date run spanning Europe, North America, and Africa, which lists a Lagos stop for December 22 before the tour concludes with shows in Cape Town and Johannesburg in January.
Reacting on Instagram, Mama Pee argued that Tyla has no business performing in Nigeria while Nigerians “bleed and scream in fear” back in South Africa, pointedly noting the singer’s continued silence on the killings.
“So Tyla will come to Nigeria past our immigration peacefully? And we will buy tickets to go and see her??? As per?” she wrote, tagging the singer directly in her post.
She went further, referencing a recent case of a young man allegedly killed by police in South Africa, and accused Tyla and “her fellow human-hunting crew” of profiting off Nigerian audiences while staying silent on the violence.
“Fellow Nigerians, our feelings are valid. No gaslighting over here. Tyla should stay back in her human-hunting country. Her silence in the face of grave injustice is loud enough,” she added, closing with a call for Nigerians to take matters into their own hands where the government has failed to act: “If na only this one we fit do as our government knows themselves, make we do am. I stand with Nigerians. Stay back in your country.”
Mama Pee’s comments add her voice to a growing chorus of Nigerian public figures demanding a boycott of the concert. Podcaster and social commentator Solomon Buchi made similar calls this week, urging Nigerians to shut the show down entirely and pointing to Zimbabwe’s past boycotts of South African acts as a model to emulate.
Not everyone agrees, however. Activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has pushed back against the boycott campaign, arguing that Tyla should not be held “vicariously liable” for the actions of South African criminals or the failures of political leadership on both sides of the border.
Sowore instead directed his criticism at South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, whom he accused of failing to protect citizens.
Tyla herself has yet to publicly respond to the mounting backlash, and there has been no indication that the Lagos date will be altered or cancelled.
As the debate rages online, Nigerians remain sharply split between those insisting silence in the face of xenophobic violence cannot be rewarded with ticket sales and those who argue an artist should not be made to answer for the sins of her government.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
The Tyla-Lagos concert row is ultimately a test of where accountability lies: Nigerians like Mama Pee argue that Tyla’s silence on the killing of Nigerians in South Africa makes her complicit by association, while critics like Sowore insist an artist shouldn’t bear the blame for state failures and citizen violence she didn’t commit.
With Tyla yet to respond and the December 22 show still on, the real story isn’t just about one concert; it’s about whether public figures are expected to speak out on injustices tied to their home country, and who should actually be held responsible when governments fail to protect lives.
