By Providence Obuh

The Institute of Directors, IoD, Nigeria, penultimate week, embarked on a health walk tagged “Walk For Life” (WFL) to ensure healthy living among directors and participants. The fitness exercise which lasted for about 1hr, 45minutes took off from IoD’s office at 53 Glover Road, Ikoyi-Lekki, with participants going through Malverton and Alexander roads, across Lekki/Ikoyi Bridge.

Speaking at the health awareness programme, President, IoD, Mrs. Eniola Fadayomi, explained that WFL is a wake up call to a realization that exercise should form a very important part of daily activities. Fadayomi said “The importance of this walk is the development of our directors.

You see some people slump and die or that their heart is congested with cholesterol, full of fat because they don’t exercise. You don’t necessarily need to do rally race, just generally moving the body all the time.

Director-General, IOD, Mr. Victor Banjo, said that the exercise was targeted at ensuring that directors, senior managers and chief executive officers who rarely have time for exercise are encouraged to do so in order to keep their bodies fit, adding that fitness is not about how you look but a measure of what you are like internally. “Your physical outlook does not give a full indication of your health.”

“WFL is a way of promoting good lifestyle and health for Nigerians and not just our members or directors. Directors spend too much time seating in the office and when you do this, your body suffers and we believe that to have a healthy life you need to actually get up and give your heart, legs and muscles some exercise, when you exercise very well your heart pumps up and it remains healthy,” he said.

Chairman, Health Committee of the institute, Mr Ebun Sonaya, said that the fitness exercise was not about promoting competition or rivalry among the participants but to encourage all directors to learn to stay healthy, urging participants to cultivate the habit of walking for leisure.