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To maintain her chic look, Omidiran sits-up
With a good-looking husband and five children, many
held there was nothing more to offer as it concerned maintaining her slender
weight. Their arguments stemmed from the fact that she was blessed with a
figure that too much food could not consume.
But Alhaja Ayo Omidiran thinks differently.
“Experiences of women who have had slim figures but are now extremely fat
showed that exercising is the key to retaining your good looks, “ she
revealed to this reporter. Even when she joined the board of the Nigeria
Football Association ((NFA), Omidiran had no problem adjusting to the rigours
that followed the appointment. To remain on top of her job as Chairperson of
women football, she disclosed to Saturday Independent that she does sit-ups and a lot of
walking.
“ While I am with the female national team, the
Super Falcons on major assignments, I join them to train. I walk round the
pitch as long as my legs can take me. It is not only when I am with the team
but at home. For sit-ups, I do that at least twice in a week whenever I wake up
in the morning.
Speaking on the concern of people that her desire to
sustain her weight was unnecessary, Omidiran recalled a particular day to this
reporter, saying: “I got a
call from the NFA scribe, Chief Taiwo Ogunjobi and while we were discussing, he
noticed that I was panting while talking to him and he decided to know what the
problem was and I told him. His response was amusing to me. He asked me whether
I wanted to kill my husband,” she jokingly remarked.
Naturally, looking at her, you would definitely know
why Omidiran does sit-up. ‘Having a flat stomach is the only reason why I
do sit-up because it helps to firm it up. As a mother, Omidiran knows
childbirth has the tendency of expanding a woman’s stomach but warned
that after weaning the child, that it was important for the woman to exercise.
“When I was having my children, I still created time to walk out because
I considered it essential. Not only do you look smart but younger and more beautiful,”
she informed.
Given the intensity of exercising, some women tend to
shy away, what advice does she have for them? I can only tell them to
rescind”, she says. “As an example I am fit today because I work
out. I am above 40 but in all modesty, I look younger than my age,”
expressed the NFA member. The impact? “Very rewarding!” she
remarked. A moderate eater with a special bias for beans, Omidiran’s
passion for sports dates back to when she was in the primary school. Fondly called
a tomboy by friends, she played football with the boys around until a day her
teacher flogged her for it
“She asked me whether I saw any girl playing
football and therefore advised me to do something more feminine. I took to her
advice and switched to volleyball and handball. She joined the school team as
an undergraduate of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) but her heart was still with
football. “I was made the cheerleader of the school team and I am a
die-hard fan of Manchester United which meant that l traveled with them for competitions”.
Since she could not play competitive football, Omidiran established a football
club -- Omidiran Babes of Oshogbo. “Football remains a passion that can
never die. If having a club would bring me close to the game then I hope nothing
stops me”, she explained.
In a position that would attract critics, Omidiran
has remained undisturbed adding that such were expected in life. “There
are some criticisms that I can respond to if I see it is necessary but some are
laced with mischief which I have no option but to discount,” she noted.
Determined to watch female football grow in the
country, Omidiran’s eyes are set at revolutionising the sport when the
professional league takes off next year. “With what is on ground, the
package from Globacom would benefit sport. This is what we crave for and by the
grace of God, it should come to pass.
Pained that lack of publicity has hindered the local
league for both sexes, Omidiran wants the media to further project the leagues
so that more players can be discovered. “I watched the Charity Cup
between Enyimba and Lobi Stars last year and it was there I noticed Taye Taiwo.
Immediately I saw him, I knew he was a player for the future. This is where the
power of the media comes in,” she said. In the female category, Omidiran
picked Akudo Sabi as the most improved player.
In her final submissions, she rated the present year
as an improvement for the national teams in international competitions.
Referring to the Olympics and the U-19 World Cup in Thailand, she said:
”In both outings, we reached the quarter finals for the first time. What
we should now do is to consolidate for the future,’ she concluded.
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