Lagos: 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, marked a significant return to the city’s cultural calendar.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Mr. Jones Okolo, President of Miss Little Face of Lagos, explained that the pageant, last held in 2019, was revived to provide children with opportunities to develop their talents, confidence, and creativity. The event featured talent displays, dancing, self-development activities, and other programs designed to nurture the contestants. “We just resumed, as if we are starting again. But thank God, the queen has just been crowned,” Okolo stated.
He elaborated that the queen, first runner-up, and second runner-up would reign for 12 months, participating in activities aimed at promoting their development. Contestants are assessed based on qualities including boldness, intelligence, intuition, and sharpness. Okolo’s passion for model
ing, event management, and training young talents inspired him to establish the children’s pageant, adapting the concept of Face of Africa to create a platform for children in Lagos.
Suzanne Obadeyi, a media personality and marketing consultant, served as co-host and member of the organizing team. She emphasized the event’s aim to empower children through vocational skills and talent development. Contestants participated in talent shows, dancing, choreography, and Chinese language demonstrations. “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.
Obadeyi identified funding and sponsorship as major challenges facing the organizers, noting that some contestants had to be provided with costumes. She appealed to individuals and corporate organizations to support the pageant, helping it become an annual and larger 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, stated that contestants were assessed based on talent, intelligence, appearance, confidence, and catwalk, among other criteria. She mentioned that the winners would have opportunities to participate in educational and tourism-related activities and meet other contestants from pageants. Lawal advised the children to take their education seriously, 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 urged.
Lawal also encouraged parents to ensure that their children remained focused on their education and upbringing, highlighting the pageant’s role in providing a platform for children to learn, develop confidence, and gain exposure beyond the competition.
In addition to crowning the Queen of Miss Little Face of Lagos 2026, several cont
estants won special category titles, including Best Catwalk, Culture, Most Photogenic, Miss Amity, Miss Creativity, and Miss Tourism. Face of Badagry was crowned queen, with Face of Apapa as the first runner-up and Face of Mushin as the second runner-up.