Mrs Akeredolu urges support for children’s devt
By Maria Famakinwa
|
The wife of Ondo State Governor, Arabinrin Betty Anyanwu -Akeredolu has urged parents to give their children the necessary support they need in order to excel in sports.
Mrs Akeredolu made this call at the flag off of the second edition of the State Summer Tennis Clinic for children between ages 4-13 which took place at the State Sports Complex.
While charging the parents to encourage their children in order to achieve success in sports the First Lady added that those who are World Champions today started when they were young.
She further revealed that she was happy because some of the Ondo State citizens have already keyed into the vision of doing things on their own instead of waiting for the State Government’s assistance.
“We can now do things on our own without waiting for the government’s assistance. Virtually all my programmes are citizens driven. We want to do things differently from what it was in the past. To the parents, I will like to appeal to you to get rackets for your children as a way of encouraging them. The little you pay is just to have a sense of belonging. Parents should also come and watch how their kids are progressing in the game.”
The First Lady also thanked the organising committee for a job well done saying despite the fact that she was not around while they planned for the event, yet it was successful. She advised the children to practice tennis regularly for better performance.
In his welcome address, the Chairman Organising Committee, Otunba Tajudeen Akinyemi who observed that over 270 boys and girls participated in the Summer Tennis Clinic last year thanked the First Lady for her passion and vision to revive sporting activities in the State thereby making Ondo State a Tennis hub where the likes of Serena Williams and Roger Federer will be produced.
His words: “As you will all agree with me, there is no tool for development that can be more effective than the empowerment of the people, especially the youths who are the leaders of tomorrow. It is on this note that I will like to encourage parents to be more committed to this initiative especially in the area of buying rackets and balls for their children and ensure that these kids engage in regular training during holidays.”
Akinyemi further called on parents and well meaning sons and daughters of the State to partner with them as he added that the tennis clinic is essentially designed to identify and develop talents in the children.
In his words, Commissioner for Sports and Youth Development in Ondo State, Hon Saka Ogunleye also commended Arabinrin Akeredolu for her contributions to sports development in the State as he added that through the programme, hidden talents will be discovered.
“It is necessary to appreciate your efforts in the development of grassroots sports across the state, which will help the children of the State to develop interest in sports.
“This is one of the things we can do to encourage our youths and take them off the streets. Since this programme started last year, a lot of youths have taken interest in sport and are doing great in it as most of them had won prizes in different tennis competitions.”
One of the participants, Nife Adewole thanked Mrs Akeredolu for organising Tennis Club which brought children across the state together to showcase their talents.”This is my first time of playing lawn tennis and I am very happy. I pray that God will continue to strengthen the Governor’s Wife for her to do more for the children in the State,” she said.