- South African pop star Tyla spoke out on African unity after accepting an award at the 2026 South Africa Music Awards
- Her comments came amid a wave of anti-immigration violence in South Africa targeting Nigerians, Ghanaians, Kenyans and other immigrants
- The 23-year-old said she is proud to be African and hopes the continent will one day stop the infighting
South African pop star Tyla has used her platform at one of the country’s biggest music nights to call for continental solidarity, even as anti-immigration tensions continue to grip her homeland.
The 24-year-old singer made the remarks after collecting the AfriPure International Achievement prize at the 2026 South Africa Music Awards.
Source: Instagram
Rather than focus solely on her personal milestone, she turned her acceptance moment into a message about Africa’s future.
“I’m just so happy to be South African, to be African most of all and I pray one day to see a united Africa, it’s so important,” she said.
Anti-Immigration Violence in South Africa
Tyla’s words arrive at a particularly charged moment. South Africa has seen a surge in anti-immigration sentiment and protests in recent months, with foreign nationals becoming frequent targets of hostility and violence.
Nigerians, Ghanaians, Kenyans and other African immigrants living in the country have borne the brunt of demonstrations that have at times turned dangerous.
The situation has deteriorated enough that several Nigerians have been repatriated from South Africa in multiple batches, as conditions for the immigrant community continue to worsen.
Tyla’s remarks come weeks after some Nigerian social media users called for a boycott of her Lagos concert over renewed concerns about xenophobic attacks against Nigerians in her country.
The users argued that the singer should not be welcomed to Lagos without publicly addressing the reported attacks, which have reignited long-standing tensions between Nigeria and South Africa.
Tyla had earlier scheduled her Lagos concert for December 22 as part of her ‘A*Pop’ World Tour. However, the singer later removed the Lagos date from the tour schedule following the boycott calls.
Watch the X video of Tyla talking about African unity here:
Reactions trail Tyla’s video
Legit.ng compiled the comments of social media users below
@remasherkay stated:
“Nigerians una b clown. I dey wait for South Africans make dem dey do free ads for una like this”
@Berv_regen shared:
“If e remain small make e unite, wena people go remember that other Africans are taking their jobs”
Source: Instagram
Senator Shehu Sani defends Tyla’s Lagos performance
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that former Kaduna Central Senator Shehu Sani appealed to Nigerians to allow South African singer Tyla to perform in Lagos without interference.
He stressed that Tyla should not be held accountable for xenophobic attacks carried out by South African gangs against Nigerian immigrants.
Sani argued that xenophobia should not be the lens through which Nigerians judge her, noting she has never made anti-Nigerian statements.
Source: Legit.ng