The Olomu of Omu-Aran, Oba Abdulraheem Adeoti, has called for stakeholders’ collective responsibility in ensuring the desired sports development in the area.
Adeoti made the call during the 2nd edition of Omu-Aran Mini-Marathon in Omu-Aran, Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara yesterday.
TheTide source reports that the 10 km marathon race among secondary school students in the town was organised by Skylarks Club of Omu-Aran to boost youths’ participation in sporting activities in the area.
Adeoti, who commended the organisers for their vision and foresight as regards sports development, urged more public and private partnership to achieve the desired objective.
According to him, goverment alone cannot shoulder the wants and demands of every community, hence the need for collective efforts to achieving the desired target.
The monarch, who described running as a good form of exercise, urged the youth not to lose focus in combining sporting activities with their academic pursuit for them to stay healthy and achieve excellence in their studies.
He was hopeful that the event would be a continuous exercise in order to move the community forward as far as sports development was concerned.
The monarch said: “Running is a good form of strengthening our muscles and other parts of our body in order to be active health-wise.
“As you can see, I have been walking around since morning even before the commencement of the marathon race to show and lead by example.
“Our youths should be agile, active, particularly when it comes to sporting activities.
“Such will be a good motivation for them to excel in their academic programmes also,’’ he said.
President, Skylarks Club of Omu-Aran, Mr James Sangoyomi, in his remarks, noted that the club was determined to expand the scope of the game to accommodate more participants outside the community.
“We are just starting. Our plan is to expand this game to attract more students from other councils as a way of improving youths’ participation in sporting activities,’’ Sangoyomi said.
He said that the game was funded from donations by members and promised its sustenance in making the event a yearly one.
Tidesports also gathered that Abiodun Kehinde of Government Christian College, Omu-Aran; Afuye Blessing of Government Secondary School, Omu-Aran; and Bamidele Samson of Omu-Aran High School won the 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes respectively in the male category.
Salim Mistura, Yusuf Barakat and Funmilayo Abolarin, all of Omu-Aran High School won 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes respectively in the female category.