Akinsola Omidire
A healthy mind makes a healthy life, so goes the saying. That was the focus recently, as members of the Ansar-ud-Deen Society of Nigeria, Lagos Women Council (LWC), marked the eighth edition of its annual health week.
The women converged on Mobil Filling Station Ground, Itire Road, Surulere, Lagos, for the exercise.
The event, aside from keeping the members healthy, was also a forum to sensitise residents of Surulere, Lawanson and Itire about the activities of the group and also propagate and showcase Islam. They said they also wanted to ensure that Muslim women were not left behind when it came to physical exercise.
Dressed in their conventional green top and white skirt, with trainers, and donning the hijab on their heads, the attire added glitz and glamour to the event just as the participants were excited and ready to go.
Members started arriving at dawn from various branches across the state. The event kicked off with prayers by the national vice president, Alhaji Salaudeen Adigun.He cut the tape to declare the walk open, supported by the chairperson of the LWC, Alhaja Risquat Oke, and others.
The procession passed through Itire Road to Lawanson, with Islamic songs blaring from speakers mounted on vans informing residents of their activities. From Lawanson, the procession moved to Pako Bus Stop, Otun Oba onward Ijesha Road junction to Itire Central Mosque and the Oba of Itire’s palace. Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) personnel and police officers were part of the procession, controlling traffic.
Bottles of table water, glucose and chewing gum were shared to members to keep them going. From the oba’s palace, they walked through Odo-Eran Road towards Ansar-ud-Deen Girls’ High School, Odo-Eran, Itire, the finishing point.
In her address, Alhaja Oke affirmed that the exercise had improved tremendously over the years.
She said: “This health walk that we are doing should not be once in a year, and it should cut across male and female, including the old and the young. We should endeavour to walk on a daily basis because exercise is very important to the body.”
Chairman, Ansar-ud-Deen Society, Lagos, Alhaji Nurudeen Ogunleye, said he was happy to be involved in this year’s event. He re-echoed what the chairperson said about the importance of exercising the body, and charged the women to consolidate on the gains they achieved during the exercise.
His words: “Everybody that participated in the health walk would have gained something because they would feel it in their body and they would be healthy.”
National vice chairman, Alhaji Salaudeen Adigun, spoke on the health benefits of walking, especially on the womenfolk. He implored parents to give their children and wards good education, noting that it was the only thing that would take the nation to greater heights.
Lagos State coordinator, Lagos Women Council, Alhaja Ganeeyat Toluwaloju, asserted that the theme of the event, “A healthy mind,” had a lot of interpretations. She said when the mind was okay, the body would be healthy. She charged the women to always relieve stress, explaining that too much stress and thinking would depress the body. So, proper checks must always be carried out, she said, while advising the women that boiled and roasted food was better than fried food.
Some of the participants at the event were Alhaja Morenike Oyediran, Alhaja Bambe, Alhadja Koiki, Princess and scores of others.