By Glory Akpan
Miss Little Face of Lagos has crowned a new queen at its seventh edition after a seven-year break occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The pageant held at Surulere on Saturday.
Mr Jones Okolo, President of Miss Little Face of Lagos, said the pageant, last held in 2019, was revived to provide children with opportunities to develop their talents, confidence and creativity.
Okolo said the event featured talent displays, dancing, self-development activities and other programmes designed to nurture the contestants.
“We just resumed, as if we are starting again. But thank God, the queen has just been crowned,” he said.
He said the queen, first runner-up and second runner-up would reign for 12 months and participate in activities aimed at promoting their development.
According to him, contestants are assessed based on qualities including boldness, intelligence, intuition and sharpness.
Okolo said his passion for modelling, event management and training of young talents inspired him to establish the children’s pageant.
Okolo said the pageant was inspired by the concept of Face of Africa, which he adapted to create a platform for children, beginning with Lagos.
Suzanne Obadeyi, a media personality and marketing consultant who served as co-host and member of the organising team, said the event was aimed at empowering children through vocational skills and talent development.
Obadeyi said the contestants participated in talent shows, dancing, choreography and Chinese language demonstrations, among other activities.
“The idea of all of this is just to train them and help them learn vocational skills, so they can grow with these things and it can be a part of them,” she said.
She, however, identified funding and sponsorship as major challenges facing the organisers, saying some contestants had to be provided with costumes.
Obadeyi appealed to individuals and corporate organisations to support the pageant to enable it become an annual and bigger event.
“We want it to be every year. Definitely, we will need sponsors. We want it to grow bigger because the next generation are the most important right now,” she said.
Mrs Sherifat Lawal, one of the judges, said the contestants were assessed based on talent, intelligence, appearance, confidence and catwalk, among other criteria.
Lawal said the winners would have opportunities to participate in educational and tourism-related activities and meet other contestants from pageants.
She advised the children to take their education serious, build close relationships with their parents and remain committed to good values.
“Parents must be very close to the kids. They have to be their best friends and tutor them towards the right path in life,” she said.
Lawal also urged parents to ensure that their children remained focused on their education and upbringing.
She said the pageant provided a platform for children to learn, develop confidence and gain exposure beyond the competition.
Six contestants also emerged winners in special categories, with Face of Mushin winning Best Catwalk, Face of Ikeja winning Culture, Face of Badagry winning Most Photogenic, Face of Surulere winning Miss Amity, Face of Epe winning Miss Creativity and Face of Apapa winning Miss Tourism.
Face of Badagry was crowned Queen of Miss Little Face of Lagos 2026, while Face of Apapa emerged first runner-up and Face of Mushin second runner-up. (NAN)
Edited by Vivian Ihechu
