Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola's Cuban Deal Revealed

On Monday, August 27, Osun State would wear a bubbly mien. The streets would be clad in colourful costumes, as cheering residents dance round the towns and villages in carnival-like processions. Across Osogbo, the capital, Ilesa, Ede, Ikirun, Ila, Ile-Ife and hundreds of other towns and villages, assorted drums would boom, horns would sound, and traditional songs would pour forth from the mouths of exhilarated citizens.

 

Thousands of secondary school boys and girls would ‘invade’ the Osogbo City Stadium, treating the delighted crowds to some aesthetic callisthenic displays. And the wide-eyed spectators would look on, with mouths agape, captivated by the prowess of their young children doing astounding manoeuvring with their bodies. Indeed, the entire state would be upbeat, as the government and people of Osun celebrate the 21st anniversary of the State of the Virtuous People. But that would not be all, of course.

 

It would also be the day the state governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola’s connection with the Cubans would be revealed to the whole world. In truth, on that memorable Monday, the 8,000 young students that have for months been receiving vigorous training under the tutelage of Cuban calisthenic experts would come out to showcase their artistry to the world. It is the day many hitherto doubting men and women would see the result of the governor’s mission in Cuba.

 

Yet, when the idea was initially mooted by Governor Aregbesola, it generated considerable controversy within and outside the state. Many were those that swore that the governor’s Cuban venture was nothing other than an avenue to train political thugs that would subsequently be unleashed on the unsuspecting populace. The governor explained that his intentions were quite noble, informing that the calisthenics programme was designed to build the young participants physically, mentally and psychologically. But many remained sceptical, convinced that nothing worthwhile would come out of the programme.

 

In spite of such cynicism, however, Aregbesola forged ahead with his intentions. On Monday, April 23, the premises of the Local Government Service Commission, Osogbo was filled with students, teachers, government officials and thousands of others from all parts of the state, as the governor flagged-off the Osun School Callisthenics Programme, otherwise known as O’ Calisthenics.

 

At the ceremony, Aregbesola explained that the programme was designed by his government to address the state of physical education in the state which he noted had fallen into decline and was no longer in reckoning in the academic institutions. He asserted that the callisthenics programme would also be used to, in his words, “re-examine the place of physical activities in our lives.”

 

“The Osun School Callisthenics Programme is well conceived as part of the overall restructuring of education in the State of Osun. Because our administration places high premium on physical education and we regard formal education as incomplete without its physical development component, we have therefore accorded it the required priority in the reorganisation of education.  “The callisthenics programme is not only an out-of-school sports activity but a lifestyle change project for building a new generation of students who are physically robust, mentally sound and socially well-adjusted,” the governor stated.

 

He recalled that the ancient Greeks saw the human body as a temple that offered both the human mind and soul a sacred abode. The people, he noted, believed that gymnastics and callisthenics were necessary to keep this abode healthy and functional. According to the governor, these ancient structured physical exercises, gymnastics and callisthenics have now been replaced by organised sporting activities. He explained further:

 

“The importance of physical exercise to the development of a healthy human person cannot be over-emphasised. Calisthenics, for example, has been known to have the substance of unity, harmony, balance and team work and thus presents one of the best engagements for teaching young pupils the cooperative spirit in a simple, delightful and interesting way.

 

This perhaps explains why, in the advanced countries of the world like the United States, physical education is generally taught to school pupils right from kindergarten all the way up to the university level. It covers a whole range of organised physical activities such as sports, calisthenics, gymnastics, dance and so on.” He insisted that the programme was even more advantageous to the state and its people, saying it would provide an alternative avenue for social interaction among youngsters who could otherwise be lured into unwholesome and violent activities by some heartless politicians.

 

“By providing a platform for fraternisation and positive integration and engagement in a worthwhile endeavour, it makes the students unavailable for potentially harmful out-of-school activities such as political thuggery and other criminal and self-defeating activities,” he informed. Aregbesola admitted that he wasn’t the pioneer of the exercise, recalling that such programmes were instituted by the regime of the late Chief Bola Ige in the old Oyo State and in the recent past by the Bisi Akande administration in Osun State.

 

He said the current efforts would be sustained, pledging that the programme was not designed to have a terminal date. Two Cuban specialists – Francis José Vásquez Rodríguez and Raiza Aljoe Guerra – were brought into the country by the state government to train the students as well as local trainers that would eventually take over the training of others. Under the first phase of the programme, 8, 000 students and 60 local trainers received training under the Cuban coaches.

 

Out of that number, 5, 000 were trained in the state capital, while the remaining 3, 000 were spread through the other eight federal constituencies in the state. He said the students would be picked from JSS 1 and JSS 2 classes. The governor announced that his intention was to make callisthenics a permanent feature in the state. The participating students were selected from 48 schools across the state, while four training centres were picked within Osogbo community. They included St. Charles Grammar School, Unity School, Baptist Girls High School and the Township Stadium.

 

Outside the capital, the future callisthenic experts were coached in Iwo, Ilesa, Ikire, Ede, Ikirun, Ile-Ife, Ila, Ilobu and Ijebu-Jesa. Aregbesola also stated that besides callisthenics, his government would work hard to bring back other extracurricular activities, including photography, chess, karate and quiz, and capacity development programmes like the Boys Scout, Boys Brigade and Girls Guide. “The physical aspects of the broad extracurricular activities to be introduced are consistent with our Walk-to-Live and promotion of Healthy Living Action Plan, while the social and guidance aspects are true to our philosophy and progressive ideals for social development,” he informed.

 

Aregbesola regretted that some people had accused him of using the programme as a cover for giving military training to the youths. Wondering how teaching some young persons to hold flags and bend their bodies would amount to military training, the governor vowed that such cynicism would never dissuade him from pursuing his reform programmes in Osun schools. Aregbesola also stated at another forum that the programme, which he described as a lifestyle-changing project for building a new generation of physically robust, mentally sound and socially well-adjusted students, would promote unity, harmony and team spirit among the youngsters.

 

He also informed that JSS students were the first beneficiaries since they had longer years to spend in school. The trained students would thereafter train others, the governor explained. He said Cuban specialists were chosen to train the students because of that country’s proximity to Nigeria as well as the Cubans’ contribution towards the development of Africa and Nigeria. Assistant Chief of Staff to the Governor and Coordinating Director of the programme,

 

Hon. Oguntola Toogun said the state government did not just pick the participating students. He informed that the government sought the consent of the parents before engaging the pupils even as he noted that adequate medical arrangements were in place to take care of the health challenges of participants. So on that Monday, thousands of young students that have been receiving training in callisthenics would step out to showcase their art. And the world would stare with awestruck attention at the sheer artistry of these Nigerian youngsters who might yet wow the world at some future Olympics someday soon.

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