In an exclusive pre-RYLA interview with D9112Monthly, Assistant Governor Adebukunola Soile-Balogun of Rotary International District 9112, past president of the Rotary Club of Ikeja-Alausa Central and registration sub-committee chair for the 2026-2027 Rotary Youth Leadership Awards, on 28 July 2026 in Lagos gave a clear assurance of complete protection for participants at the forthcoming residential camp.
Adebukunola Soile-Balogun explained that about 450 young people aged between 14 and 25 will arrive on Saturday 15 August at the Citizenship and Leadership Training Centre, known as the Man O’ War Sea School in Apapa.
The eight-day programme concludes with a closing ceremony on Sunday 23 August.
“Our children are going to be safe,” Adebukunola Soile-Balogun told D9112Monthly.
“As a parent, our children will be well taken care of. I can say for a fact that the children will be well taken care of; safety is top.”
The venue’s paramilitary character provides a strong security presence, reinforced by organised groups of Rotarian committee members who will move throughout the facility.
District Governor Olayioye Abidoye has already listed renovation of the Sea School among priority projects for the 2026-2027 Rotary year, underlining the district’s commitment to the site.
This year’s theme, “Today’s Innovators, Tomorrow’s Leaders,” seeks to equip participants with practical vocational skills such as artificial intelligence sessions, design, soap making, bead making, barbing and tailoring, together with leadership training, socialisation and talks on national security and the dangers of drug abuse.
Adebukunola Soile-Balogun said the experience is intended to produce young ambassadors who return home ready to apply what they have learned.
Clubs across District 9112 are being encouraged to sponsor the opening ceremony on 16 August, the closing event, camp improvements and the participation of their nominated young people.
Recognition will go to clubs whose Rylarians show good conduct and active involvement, as well as those that provide financial or on-site support by holding meetings at the camp.
@ireturagency What is RYLA all about? Assistant Governor Bukunola Soile-Balogun explains #f #fyp @rotaryinternational
The programme continues a well-established tradition at the same Apapa centre. In 2025, under then District Governor Lanre Adedoyin, 396 participants aged 14 to 25 completed a comparable week of citizenship, leadership and skills training that included barbing, bead-making and other crafts.
Earlier editions in 2024 also drew several hundred young people from Lagos and neighbouring areas, confirming the enduring value of the residential format.
Adebukunola Soile-Balogun, who previously served as the first female president of her club and as Lagos State Coordinator for the Rotary Action Group for Peace, is representing the RYLA 2026 chairman at these preparatory sessions.
The district, formed in 2024 when the former District 9110 was divided, now counts dozens of clubs focused on youth service among its core priorities.
While the camp offers a vital opportunity for personal growth and peer connection, its success depends on steady club sponsorship and careful selection through ongoing screening exercises.
Parents and Rotarians can take confidence from the layered security arrangements and the clear emphasis on welfare that Adebukunola Soile-Balogun has placed at the centre of preparations.
The 2026 gathering is expected to send another cohort of young people back to their communities better prepared to lead and serve.
Ojelabi, the publisher of Freelanews, is an award winning and professionally trained mass communicator and a recipient of the D9112 Superstar Icon Award, who writes ruthlessly about pop culture, religion, politics and entertainment.
