By Daniel Olabiyi
Nigerian singer, Tiwa Savage said on Wednesday, September 4, that she would no longer be performing at a festival scheduled to hold in Johannesburg, South Africa, later this month.
Tiwa Savage was scheduled to perform at the annual event this month with Corrine Bailey Rea, DJ Simza, DJ Zinhle and many more.
Tiwa cancelled her performance in south Africa due to the latest wave of violence by South Africans towards nationals of other African countries.
She tweeted: “I refuse to watch the barbaric butchering of my people in South Africa. This is SICK. For this reason, I will NOT be performing at the upcoming DSTV delicious Festival in Johannesburg on the 21st of September. My prayers are with all the victims and families affected by this.”
Savages reaction to the xenophobic attacks comes a day another talented Nigerian artiste, Burna Boy, vowed not to ever visit South Africa again.
Burna Boy recalled via Twitter that he had also had his fair share of xenophobic experience in South Africa. Although he said that his dream had always been to see a united Africa, that dream may no longer be possible until the South African government takes conclusive measures against the situation.
Buran Boy, however, stated that he was not inspiring violence and that there are some South Africans who are “amazing” … “but they are not many at all,” he said.
But Wizkid disagreed with Burna Boy. He called his fellow celebrities dumb for berating South Africans, accusing them of fueling hate.
“I’ve seen so many insensitive and dumb stupid comments from you celebrities and I’m so disappointed! This is not a time to fight or point fingers!! Let love lead. Use your head! ❤️ u fucking dumb fucks! People are dying for real! Watch what you say,” he said.
Reports indicate that at least five people have been killed by the wave of violence across Gauteng, a city in Johannesburg. Many Nigerian stores were looted.
Popular stores like Shoprite, a South African franchise, and MTN, the telecommunication giant, have been torched in the past 24 hours.
South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa condemned the attack and asked the security agency to end the violence.
“I condemn the violence that have been spreading around a number of our provinces in the strongest terms. I am covering the ministry in the security cluster today to make sure that we keep our eyes on these acts of wanton violence and find a way of stopping them,” he said