As part of concerted efforts towards improving Children’s guidance, especially on following an ideal career path, the First Lady of Lagos State, Dr. (Mrs.) Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu has organised a three-day workshop on agriculture for Boys in Correctional Centres across the State.
Speaking at the Workshop with the theme: “The 21st Century Boy-Child: Creating A Vision for Transformation”, Dr. (Mrs.) Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu said the training was organised to guide and educate young boys on the importance of choosing agriculture as a career path or source of livelihood.
She informed that the programme will also ensure that the boy-child is not left behind in the scheme of affairs, noting that the focus of many parents and guardians is to address the challenges girls face and to promote empowerment as well as the fulfill their human rights.
Dr. Sanwo-Olu added that it had also been observed that attention to issues of the boy-child had been inadequate, hence the need to correct the imbalance of the gender scale. She, therefore, called on parents to make sure they focus on the moral upbringing of both sexes.
In her words: “One of the reasons we decided to embark on this initiative is that some parents, knowingly or unknowingly, are putting a lot of emphasis and efforts on protecting the girl-child. But, it seems many have forgotten that the boy-child is equally important, thus, we need to balance our attention on both genders”.
She also advised that youths should try to divert their energy into things that would materialise positively in their lives rather than engaging themselves in activities that could lead to destruction.
Also speaking at the event, the Acting Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Adeyinka Ominrin, said the participants will be enlightened on the various value chains in agriculture and encouraged to familiarise themselves with some facilities and agricultural tools.
As part of the three-day activities, the participants went on an excursion to the Lagos State Agricultural Training Institute, Poka, Araga, in Epe to acquaint themselves with the practical and theoretical aspects of agriculture at the institute.
They were also given pep talks on various agricultural enterprises, such as poultry, piggery, vegetable production and aquaculture, amongst others, by facilitators that have passed through the training institute.
