News Investigators/ The Yargote Foundation for Children, Youth and Women Development is seeking partnership with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) to promote the “Empower the Boy Child Summit 2026” and its advocacy activities.
The summit with the theme “The Boy Child Emergency: Investing in Boys, Securing Our Future” will hold on Nov. 19 at the Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja.
The partnership is aimed at using NAN’s wide news network to raise awareness on the development and wellbeing of boys, and to draw greater public attention to the need for their proper grooming and support.
Speaking during a courtesy visit to the NAN headquarters on Monday in Abuja, Patron of the foundation, Murtala Aliyu, said the boy child is increasingly being left without the guidance and support needed to prepare him for adulthood.
Mr Aliyu said the gap in the grooming of boys is becoming a concern, as more attention is being given to preparing the girl child for life and responsibility.
“The boy child is left to learn on his own, and because of that, we have, in the public space, starting from those cleaning windscreen in traffic, to bandits, to Boko Haram, to all sorts of crime.
“So, we said, even for the stability of homes, we need to groom the boy child to be able to develop confidence and have empathy so that when we marry out our daughters, they’ll be able to take responsibility.
“As much as we struggle to protect the girl child, there’s a lot of struggle now to protect the boy child also,” he said.
NAN reports that the Yargote Foundation exists to nuture and empower children, youth and women through advocacy, education, life skills, mentorship and community engagement.
The patron said the foundation has made boy child support one of its flagship projects, adding that boys are being selected from schools and trained to become ambassadors in their schools and communities.
Mr Aliyu said the foundation is also seeking wider support to make the initiative a sustained national programme, rather than one that is driven by one organisation alone.
The Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the foundation, Anna Hussaini-Pai, said many men are facing pressure to provide for their families partly because they are not adequately prepared for the responsibilities of adulthood.
Mrs Hussaini-Pai said the summit is, therefore, focusing on boys between the ages of 10 and 19, when they can still be guided and prepared for future responsibilities.
“A lot of men today are under so much pressure; pressure to provide, pressure to take care of their homes, school fees and all of that.
“And because of that gap in their grooming, a lot of the men we see today are not able to navigate that pressure.
“They really don’t know how to handle the situation because they were not prepared for that role.
“So, we are doing what we’re doing to close that gap and just make everybody better and the society in general,” she said.
She said the foundation had held two earlier editions of the summit in 2024 and 2025, adding that the 2026 edition will bring stakeholders together for increased awareness on support for the boy child.
Mrs Hussaini-Pai said NAN’s support would amplify the message and reach more Nigerians.
Responding, NAN’s Managing Director, Ali Muhammad Ali, welcomed the foundation’s initiative, commending the focus on what he described as “a long-overdue conversation on the boychild”.
Mr Ali said the issue is closely linked to nation building, security and sustainable development, stressing that the family remains important to the stability of society.
“The country needs a conversation surrounding some of these identified pressures and I commend it. The theme itself speaks directly to nation building, security and sustainable development.
“At the heart of every family, the boy becomes the man.
“They say twice a child, once a man, and unless they are prepared, we end up having broken homes and we know the result of having broken homes.
“Most of what is affecting the nation is actually the net result from the family unit,” he said.
The managing director pledged that NAN would gladly partner with the foundation on the summit and provide news coverage and interviews to support the initiative.
He added that NAN’s wide network of reporters will give the summit visibility, ensuring that the event and activities leading to it receive coverage.
“Rest assured that we’ll be there every step of the way and we go out of our way to do this at no cost because we are committed to all of the ideals you espouse in the impending summit,” he said.
NAN