NAOWA and Ocean Wave Group Empower 100 Barracks Women and Youths in Edo

The Nigerian Army Officers’ Wives Association (NAOWA), 4 Brigade Chapter, has opened a two-month skills acquisition programme in Benin City, Edo State, to equip 100 barracks women and youths with practical vocational skills. The initiative, carried out in partnership with the Ocean Wave Group, is being framed as a direct response to unemployment and a way to help beneficiaries build sustainable livelihoods within and beyond the barracks community.

The training was inaugurated on Thursday, July 23, 2026, at the NAOWA Skills Acquisition Centre in Ekehuan Military Cantonment. According to the report, the programme is designed not just to teach trades, but to promote entrepreneurship, self-employment and long-term economic empowerment for families living in the cantonment.

Participants are being trained in seven vocational areas: Advanced Tailoring and Crafts, Catering, Hairdressing, Information and Communication Technology, Photography and Videography, Event Decoration and Cosmetology. The selection of these courses reflects a practical focus on skills that can be monetised quickly in local markets and that match current demand for small services and creative work.

The organisers said the theme of the programme, “Skills for Income,” captures its main objective: giving beneficiaries marketable skills that can translate into real earnings after the training ends. That emphasis is important because many empowerment schemes stop at certification, while the real challenge is ensuring that trainees can actually start businesses or find clients once the classes are over.

NAOWA’s role in the initiative fits into its broader welfare and empowerment work across military communities. The association has long been involved in training women and youths in skills that support household income, and the Edo programme continues that pattern by focusing on self-reliance rather than short-term charity. Its partnership with Ocean Wave Group adds private-sector support and helps make the programme feel more connected to market realities.

The report also suggests that the training is being treated as a community development intervention, not just a military welfare activity. Barracks communities often face limited access to formal employment, and women and youths in those areas can benefit from skills that allow them to earn money locally without waiting for scarce salaried jobs. That makes vocational training particularly valuable in settings where household income is often under pressure.

The choice of disciplines also shows a balance between traditional trades and digital-age services. Tailoring, catering and hairdressing can support everyday microbusinesses, while ICT, photography and videography can open doors to event work, content creation and small-scale digital services. Event decoration and cosmetology likewise target fast-growing service niches where small businesses can start with relatively modest capital.

By targeting 100 women and youths at once, the programme is also likely to create peer support and local networks among beneficiaries. That can matter after training ends, because skills are often easier to sustain when graduates can collaborate, share equipment, recommend one another to clients or form informal business groups.

The initiative is part of a wider trend in Nigeria where institutions are increasingly using vocational and digital training to address unemployment and economic vulnerability. For NAOWA, the message is clear: empowering women and youths in barracks communities is not only a welfare duty, but also a way to strengthen family stability and social resilience.

If the programme is followed by starter packs, mentoring and access to tools, it could produce more than just graduates with certificates. It could create a small ecosystem of new entrepreneurs in Benin City who are able to support their families, serve their communities and build income streams from the skills they have learned.