By Abioye Tosin Lawrence
I strongly disagree with Omoyele Sowore's position that Tyla's Lagos concert must go on regardless of the growing anger among Nigerians over xenophobic attacks and the treatment of Nigerians in South Africa.
To be clear, this is not an accusation that Tyla personally committed xenophobic attacks. She is an artist, not a government official. But international relations are not built solely around individuals; sometimes nations use cultural and economic engagements to send diplomatic messages when conventional political channels appear to have failed.
For years, Nigerians and other Africans have suffered attacks, intimidation, destruction of businesses and, tragically, loss of lives in South Africa. The question Nigerians should be asking is not simply whether Tyla is responsible for those crimes. The bigger question is: what meaningful consequence should a government face when its citizens or residents repeatedly subject fellow Africans to xenophobic violence?
Nigeria should not become South Africa. We should not attack South Africans, destroy their businesses or respond to xenophobia with another form of xenophobia. But refusing to retaliate violently does not mean Nigeria must remain diplomatically silent.
There is a legitimate place for diplomatic pressure, economic measures and, where legally justified, regional sanctions.
This is where I respectfully disagree with Sowore.
Activism should not become a reflexive defence of everything that appears to oppose the Nigerian government. There are moments when the interest and dignity of Nigerians must come first.
Where are the voices speaking for Nigerians whose businesses were destroyed? What about families who lost loved ones? What about Nigerians who may have been arrested, detained or otherwise subjected to abuses that never received international attention?
These people deserve advocacy too.
If the Nigerian government decides that allowing a South African artiste to perform in Lagos sends the wrong diplomatic message at a particular moment, that should not automatically be dismissed as intolerance towards art. A government can legitimately use cultural diplomacy, including the suspension or review of cultural engagements as part of a broader diplomatic response.
That does not mean Tyla should be demonised.
It means the Nigerian government should have the courage to tell Pretoria that friendship between African countries cannot be one-sided.
South Africa cannot demand respect for its citizens across Africa while failing to guarantee the safety and dignity of Africans living within its borders.
And this is not about whether President Cyril Ramaphosa can “dare” another world leader. The real issue is whether Nigeria has the political will to defend its citizens through lawful diplomatic means.
Can South Africa be held accountable through the African Union? Can Nigeria demand stronger regional mechanisms against xenophobic violence? Can ECOWAS or other African institutions develop meaningful consequences for systematic failures to protect African nationals? Can Nigeria push for stronger bilateral agreements protecting its citizens abroad?
Those are the battles worth fighting.
If international institutions fail to respond adequately to serious allegations of abuses, that does not mean Nigeria should simply fold its arms. It means Abuja must explore every lawful diplomatic, regional and economic instrument available.
Sowore has spent years telling Nigerians to demand accountability from those in power. That same principle should apply when Nigerians are victims outside the country.
Our government must defend Nigerians. Our activists must speak for Nigerians. And our diplomatic institutions must make it clear that Nigerian lives and livelihoods are not disposable simply because the perpetrators are across another country's border.
Tyla may be innocent of xenophobia. But Nigeria's anger over xenophobia is not illegitimate.
The two truths can exist simultaneously.
Perhaps the question should therefore not be whether Tyla deserves to perform in Lagos.
The question is whether South Africa has done enough to deserve Nigeria's unquestioning goodwill.
Abioye Tosin Lawrence is the Publisher of Oriontimes Online Newspaper and the author of the memoir Voices From the Fire: My Journey Through a Hollow Empire
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