CWAY Drinking Water Science & Technology Co. Ltd. used this year’s World Water Day to do more than mark the calendar. Across Lagos, Abuja, and Enugu, Nigeria’s foremost packaged water brand staged a multi-city commemoration anchored on the United Nations’ 2026 theme, “Water and Gender,” deploying advocacy, youth engagement, and community outreach in a single coordinated push.
The centrepiece of the activities was a national secondary school essay competition finale held at the company’s corporate headquarters in Isolo, Lagos. The event drew students, academics, journalists, and industry stakeholders into a substantive conversation about how water access and gender inequality intersect, a question that remains acutely relevant in Nigeria, where millions of women and girls still bear the primary burden of water collection in underserved communities.
The 2026 World Water Day campaign, led by UNICEF and UN Women, called for women and girls to be centred in water solutions, recognising that where people lack access to safe water, inequalities deepen, with women and girls absorbing the greatest impact. CWAY’s programming reflected that urgency.
The Competition
Open to students in Senior Secondary School classes SS1 to SS3 across Lagos and Ogun States, the essay competition invited young Nigerians to engage seriously with the gender dimensions of the water crisis. Hundreds of entries were submitted ahead of the March 22 deadline, with six finalists shortlisted for the grand finale.
The finalists, Melody Iboma (Solid Ultimate Academy, Lagos), Fadare Oluwaseunfunmi (FAS Comprehensive College, Ogun State), Oluremi Temidayo Mercy (Coriander Secondary School, Lagos), Emeka Vanessa Victory (Mighty Pillars School, Lagos), Richard Oghagaoghene Eterigbo (St. Margaret Comprehensive College, Lagos), and Oniga Ayomikun (Dee Royale Montessori School, Lagos), were evaluated by a four-member panel on written quality and oral delivery.
Fadare Oluwaseunfunmi of FAS Comprehensive College emerged the overall winner, taking home ₦300,000 and a CWAY premium water dispenser. Emeka Vanessa Victory placed second (₦200,000 and 25 packs of bottled water), while Oluremi Temidayo Mercy came third (₦100,000 and 20 packs). The three remaining finalists each received ₦50,000 and packs of CWAY water as consolation prizes.
What the Executives Said
Group Marketing Head Samuel Akinrimisi framed CWAY’s participation as an ongoing commitment rather than a seasonal gesture. “For us, water is everything,” he said. “Accessibility to safe, drinkable water is essential to protecting and promoting all genders equally, it is not about male or female, it is about equal responsibility and opportunity.”
Deputy General Manager for Sales Operations Charles Ojo pointed to the company’s distribution network, production capacity, and growing refill station footprint as evidence of follow-through. He also highlighted CWAY’s role as a significant employer across its value chain, from production facilities to last-mile delivery.
The event’s keynote was delivered by Associate Professor Roland Efe Uwadiae of the Department of Marine Sciences, University of Lagos, making his second appearance on the CWAY World Water Day platform after 2023. His address challenged a central paradox: how a country as water-rich as Nigeria still leaves millions of women and girls starting each day with a walk to fetch water.
Beyond Lagos
In Enugu, CWAY took its advocacy directly to Ogbete Market, distributing chilled bottled water to traders and market workers. In Abuja, the brand organised a large-scale awareness walk through multiple neighbourhoods of the Federal Capital Territory.
Taken together, the three-city activation positions CWAY not merely as a water manufacturer but as a consistent institutional voice in Nigeria’s water access conversation, one willing to back its messaging with prizes, product, and presence on the ground.
Further Reading on Drinkabl Media:
- The Thirst Crisis That Could Break the Beverage Industry, how water scarcity is becoming an existential challenge for the drinks sector
- Guinness Nigeria’s Water of Life Project: Building Sustainability One Clean Drop at a Time, a look at another corporate player shaping Nigeria’s water access story
