Perpetua Egesimba

Pupils of Lordkings Crown Montessori School, Oke-Afa, Lagos, recently had fun as the school held its maiden inter-house sports competition at the mini-stadium in Iyana Ejigbo, Lagos.

Amid cheers, teachers, parents and well-wishers watched with keen interest as the pupils competed for sporting supremacy in the event.

The school’s board chairman, Mr. Kingsley Okwudinma, and the proprietress of the school, Mrs. I.E. Okwudinma, said the essence of the sporting event was to train future champions, as the school noticed that sporting activities in schools had been dying.

“These are the future champions, those that will take our place in terms of sports. We noticed that sport is actually dying because government is not taking it seriously, especially at the grassroots.

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“Secondly, we need sport to develop our children’s education. In terms of learning, sports enhances the brain and also makes the body strong. If the body is not strong, you cannot learn anything. We all know the adage that says, ‘all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.’ So, we need outside curriculum like sports to enhance our children’s physical and mental development. You can see pupils of two years running, trying to develop their physical fitness.”

Also speaking, Michael Adebayo, who represented the chairman of Ejigbo Local Council Development Area, Olarewaju Akinbowale, described the even as exciting. He said government needed to go back to the grassroots, to schools, especially, nursery, primary and secondary schools, to fish out talents that abound in them.

“People like Segun Odegbami, Jayjay Okocha, Kanu Nwankwo and a host of others were school products. So, government needs to develop school sports activities,” he said.

Some of the activities included march past, sack race for boys and girls, egg race, 100 metres boys and girls, relay race and a host of others.