By Gbenga Olarinoye, Osogbo

Yaya Ademola, one of the Team Leaders of Callisthenics in Osun State, speaks on why Governor Rauf Aregbesola adopted calisthenics sport for students in the state.

Reports say there is a new template for callisthenics in Osun State. What is it about?

Yes. First, since the introduction of callisthenics into our public schools by Governor Rauf Aregbesola, performances/displays at various anniversary celebrations had been restricted to about 15,000 pupils from schools in Osogbo and Olorunda Local Government Areas. But with the new template as approved by Mr. Governor, selected public schools in all the nine Federal Constituencies as well as interested private schools can participate.

Yaya Ademola

Second, participation is voluntary with the parents/guardians of the participating students responsible for their costumes. Government will only be responsible for the training and competitions which will hold in two stages – at the senatorial level between teams representing Federal Constituencies and at the state level between the first placed teams at the senatorial level competition.

In addition to trophies, plaques, medals and certificates of participation for the participants, prize money of N1, 000, 000; N750, 000 and N500, 000 will be won by the first, second and third placed teams respectively at the senatorial level competition in September 2017. By November 2017, the 1st team in each of the senatorial level will compete for N2, 000, 000; N1, 000, 000 and N750, 000 for the first, second and third positions respectively. The prize money will be used by the authorities of the combined participating and the host schools for the development of their sporting facilities and activities.

How practical is this especially at the state anniversary level is scheduled to hold in November 2017?

it is very simple. Callisthenics is very flexible. It all depends on creativity. At our level, displays take two levels – field composition and background display. Activities at the Federal Constituencies to the senatorial competition are only based on the field compositions. At the state level on the anniversary day, a background display consisting of rows of pupils seated in a gallery at Osogbo Township Stadium will be forming captions of different words and patterns, speaking to the competing teams in the main bowl. The background will not be competing. It will only add flavour and glamour to complement the competing teams and entertain the audience.

At another level, the field composition could also play background role to form different words and captions. Display can involve from a few dozen up to thousands of persons exercising in unison. As stated already, it is a function of creativity.

What are the benefits to the pupils aside prize money and trophy at the competition?

Callisthenics takes away pupils from average and below families away from harmful and vile out-of-school engagement into joyful and health activities especially in the absence of other healthy exercises in our schools today.   It teaches discipline, cooperation and teamwork. It conditions the pupils to be physically and mentally sound. It brings participants from various backgrounds and orientation together in a happy atmosphere which is a fertile ground for developing pleasant, unforgettable experiences and, perhaps, lifetime friendship.

In essence, the target of Mr. Governor is to institutionalise callisthenics into our schools curriculum as an integral part of processes to mould a complete new man/woman that is imbibed with tools he/she needs for daily application of life such that he/she will be completely educated in soul, mind and vision.   Group calisthenics endows its participants with acute sense of precision and organizational competence.

Without unison and accuracy, the outcome of their efforts will not be plausible. Participants imbibe all the elements that make up a disciplined life: promptness and punctuality, especially. Should a dozen participants be late to training, not to mention absenteeism, the entire training for thousands other participants is endangered!

Cooperation, team-work and unity of purpose are at the heart of the calisthenics arts and is imbibed as healthy, life-changing virtues by participants through the course of their training. Calisthenics is the only single extra-curriculum activity that infuses in participants the desired ethical contents of all-round education.

Hence, the Government of State of Osun, under the visionary leadership of Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola, adopted the calisthenics sport as a co-curriculum activity for its students from inception. It is not perchance, but an integral part of the total transformation of education in the state particularly targeted at the eventual production of future citizens who are completely new in social orientation, in addition to being sound in mind, physically healthy, educated and skilful.

This should not be taken in isolation. Just like the mega schools, school feeding, uniform, Opon Imo, training and re-training of teachers, incentives to teachers etc. It is engraved in his Six Integral Action Plan with which he canvassed for votes in the 2007 gubernatorial election in Osun.