The Lagos State government has announced a strategic partnership with Akwaaba African Travel Market to train and introduce young boys early to tourism and related career paths.
Speaking on the development, Claudiana Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, First Lady of Lagos State, said that the state is forging strategic partnerships with like-minded organisations such as Akwaaba African Travel Market in order to expand the Lagos Boy Child Initiative beyond its present scope and area of coverage.
With the partnership, the First Lady assured that Akwaaba will use its continent-wide platform to further expose the young boys to opportunities beyond Nigeria, while equipping them with practical life skills and changing negative perceptions about the male child.
Speaking further on the rationale for the partnership with Akwaaba during the 2026 prize-giving ceremony of the Lagos Boy Child Initiative Cooking Competition, which held recently at Lagos Marriott Hotel, Ikeja, Sanwo-Olu said that the collaboration with Akwaaba was aimed at connecting participants with regional and international opportunities in culinary arts, tourism and cultural exchange.
The winners are expected to participate in the Jollof Rice Competition during the Akwaaba expo in September at Eko Hotel and Suites Lagos, where they will meet renown Nigerian and foreign chefs in the fiercely contested cooking competition, supervised by an international jury, including participants from over 15 countries at the event.
