Osun lawmaker to promote Ayo Olopon by organising competitions
Game
By Victor Adeoti
Osogbo, March 14, 2018 (NAN) Mr Tunde Olatunji, a member of Osun House of Assembly representing Ife North, says he is promoting Ayo Olopon, a traditional game, by organising competitions among 371 students in Osun.
Olatunji, a member of APC, said this while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Osogbo.
He said the traditional game had huge potential to gain recognition both nationally and globally.
“ I am of the considered opinion that this game has huge potential to promote our rich cultural values and provide good alternative to most modern day games that add no academic or moral value to our young ones.
“My intention is to promote grassroots sports development among our young ones and most fundamentally promote our rich cultural heritage as well as the potential of the indigenous game.
“ Europe has given the world football, America basketball, I am also committed to packaging this traditional game in collaboration with other enthusiastic Nigerians as our own gift to the world,” he said.
Olatunji called for synergy between government and wealthy individuals to promote the game to higher levels than it is currently occupying among pastime games in the country.
He expressed displeasure that Ayo Olopon had been relegated to the background in the category of traditional games in different parts of the country, saying the neglect was responsible for its continued loss of value.
“Not withstanding that our people still attempt to play this game in their creed, it is sadly losing value and gradually fading away due to neglect,” he said.
According to the lawmaker, if the first World Chess Championship can be held as far back as 1886, nothing stops us from developing our own indigenous board game to that level.
“After years of study, I was amazed to discover the huge socio-economic potential of this game in terms of the number of jobs it can create.
“ How much revenue, including foreign exchange we can earn from it, how we can use this game to boost our image across the globe, how we can achieve so much with little investments and so on.
“Ayo Olopon game industry, just like the chess industry is worth billions of dollars today; we can attempt to replicate a successful industry with the oldest board game in Africa.”
Olatunji said that as part of ways of reviving the game, he was organising Ayo Olopon competition among 371 middle school students in the three Senatorial districts of the state.
NAN reports that Ayo Olopon is an Nigerian indigenous game believed to have originated from Yorubaland. (NAN)
VE/OSA/TA
Edited by Shittu Obassa/Tajudeen Atitebi