The Majority Leader, Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. SOB Agunbiade, has congratulated the Tutor-General and Permanent Secretary, Education District II, Mrs. Margaret Solarin, for initiating the “Walk for fitness Exercise” organized by the District on Thursday, January 26, 2016.
While speaking with journalist after the “Walk for Fitness”, an aerobic exercise carried out within the premises of the Education District, Maryland, Lagos, Hon. Agunbiade commended Mrs. Solarin for the successes achieved so far with the programme and for her academic vision and zeal displayed towards teachers in the district.
According to Agunbiade, “A healthy individual would be capable of doing wonders in whatever field he or she finds himself or herself. My word for people in education and the other sectors is that they should engage themselves in this kind of ‘walk for fitness’ or other physical activities. Each worker should be encouraged to involve themselves in physical exercises in order to be fit and perform better,” he stated. Hon. Agunbiade was represented at the event by the Vice Principal, Lagos State Junior Model College, Igbokuta, Mr. Bello Oladimeji Akeem.
In her own message, the Tutor General and Permanent Secretary of the district, Mrs. Margaret TitilayoSolarin, disclosed that the exercise was being organized quarterly to make Principals, Vice Principals and Teachers under her district fit enough to deliver their best to the students, while sports festival is also organized annually. According to her, everybody in the district, including students, usually benefit from the two physical activities. She said that ‘Walk for Fitness’ is always organized at the school level, while district sports festival is for everybody.
The Tutor-General also had this to say: “Like we did the first time, the testimony we got was that most of our staff having one ailment or the other, particularly arthritis, confessed that after the ‘Walk for Fitness,’ they felt very well and no longer feel pains at the back of their ankles. That’s why I want to keep it up. Every quarter of the year, we must all come together and have this exercise.” She also advised that it is always good to keep fit, “Let us try and walk around the office premises, at home and on weekends. Let’s organize people together and do some sort of jogging. It keeps the body and soul together,” she stated.
The Director, Co-curricular Science and Technology, Mrs. RamotaIyabodeDairo, also revealed that physical and mental activities are related. She said that the three main domains of education include the cumulative, the affective and the psychomotive. Explaining further, she said that the psychomotive aspect of education is the physical exercises since a healthy soul could only be found in a healthy body. She revealed that academic works, management functions and other curricular activities would only be performed well if only those involved were healthy and physically fit.
Earlier on, before the press interview, the Tutor-General and Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Solarin, representative of the Majority Leader, Mr. Bello, and NUT Chairman, Lagos State, Mr. Raheem Adesegun, led the Principals, Vice-Principals, Board Coordinators from the three divisions of the districts – Ikorodu, Kosofe and Somolu, as well as the staff of the Education District for ‘Walk for Fitness exercise, started walking from the district’s office at Maryland school complex and moved through Adesoye street, Mende, Maryland, Sunmola street, Bush street and Thomas Laniyan. They later connected Idi-Iroko Bus stop and returned to the district for an aerobic exercise led by an instructor, LeshieAmadi.
The walk featured music rendered by a brigade band and beautiful dance steps.