{"id":103476,"date":"2025-08-29T03:38:12","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T03:38:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/103476\/"},"modified":"2025-08-29T03:38:12","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T03:38:12","slug":"how-okpara-square-transformed-into-enugus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/103476\/","title":{"rendered":"How Okpara Square transformed into Enugu’s"},"content":{"rendered":"

From Jude Chinedu, Enugu\n<\/p>\n

Every weekend, Okpara Square comes alive with pounding footsteps, bursts of laughter, and the rhythm of ogene music, as thousands of residents of Enugu, capital of Enugu State, turn the iconic arena into a carnival of fitness, fun and friendship.\n<\/p>\n

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\"\"Ugo<\/p>\n

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What began as a simple jogging routine has evolved into a social melting pot where health meets happiness, deals are struck, and sometimes even love stories begin.\n<\/p>\n

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\n\"\"Nwagu\n<\/p>\n

Today, the crowd is anchored by two major groups, the Coal City Keep Fit Club and the Coal City Exclusive Fitness Club, while many others simply come on their own or in small circles.
\n\"\"Okwudili\n<\/p>\n

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For Amaechi Charles Agu Ezennaya, former vice chairman of Coal City Keep Fit Club, exercise is as essential as any prescription a doctor can give.\n<\/p>\n

He puts it plainly: \u201cThe exercise is for the living. You make your health, you grow your health, you build your health through exercise. Even if you go to the hospital today, the doctor who knows what he\u2019s doing will advise you to do exercise even once or twice a day. Here, we jog from Tuesday to Saturday.\n<\/p>\n

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\"\"Chidoka<\/p>\n

\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cOther days are minimal but Saturday, you will see a larger number, where all those who are working, who are trading, will come out to jog together with others. It is important for one\u2019s health. It increases one\u2019s heartbeat and pushes away sickness. Sometimes we complain about headache and pain but with exercise, all those things will fizzle out.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Beyond health, Ezennaya points to the club\u2019s social value. Membership, he explains, is affordable and welcoming. \u201cI have been a member of this club for the past nine years. It\u2019s not difficult to become a member. Just pay N2,000 for the club\u2019s form, go for orientation where you\u2019re informed about the rules and don\u2019ts of the club. It\u2019s also a kind of social club.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe attend weddings, wine-carrying and burials for our members. During December, we go to hospitals, we give alms, we rescue people who\u2019ve been discharged but couldn\u2019t pay. We do that every year as our charity work. Yes, it\u2019s a community of like minds. We come from different locations: northerners, southerners, and others, but majorly it\u2019s Igbo people resident in Enugu.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

The club\u2019s public relations officer, Hon. Conrad Ugo, said the choice of Okpara Square was deliberate as it is central, accessible and\u00a0 symbolic.\u00a0 But for him, the benefits go deeper: it was here he discovered his health condition.\n<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cWhy we converge here is because Okpara Square is central, you can come from Trans Ekulu, Abakpa, Emene, Asata and anywhere else. Exercise is very good for the body. It helps.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is where I noticed that I am a high blood pressure patient. I didn\u2019t know before. But since I have been doing exercise it has been helping me. My BP is now normal. So, many people are going through the same thing.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople say this is where men chase women or women chase men. No, it is not like that. Exercise is essential. I know men who were against it before but now they enjoy it more than those of us who started it. I started in 2006. I am a pioneer member of Coal City Keep Fit Club. It is a place you come and benefit both socially and healthwise.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

For Engr. Adindu Okwudili, secretary of the Coal City Exclusive Fitness Club, the group is a proof that health truly is wealth. He has been part of it for more than 15 years.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started from jogging, from there we formed an association just to help each other. Health is wealth. We do this every day, not just on Saturdays. Most of the people who come only on Saturdays are bankers and those who are not free on weekdays. Most of us are directors. It is just like a morning ritual. We come here before we do anything. Your health first before your wealth.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe come by 7:30am and leave by 9:30am. Thereafter, you go to your office and start the day. We started this as a club in 2009. We used to jog inside the square before we were asked to do it outside. Before now, Okpara Square used to be isolated. It was this jogging exercise that brought so many people here.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThe governors from Sullivan to Ugwuanyi and the current governor have all encouraged us. The only thing is they don\u2019t want this place turned into a market. That is why we sanitize. It\u2019s only on Saturdays that vendors stay longer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For Engr. Juliet Odinaka, her schedule only allows her twice a week, but those two days mean everything. It is also a deep personal commitment for her.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI only come to the club for jogging twice a week due to my schedule. This is very important for your health. Personally, I have come to lose weight and to also keep fit.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been a member of this club for more than nine years now. There hasn\u2019t been any challenge in accessing here for now. I believe that exercise is very good, health- wise and otherwise. So, it\u2019s good for one to exercise not just for losing weight but for the overall health of your body.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

But Okpara Square is more than sweat and jogging tracks. It is also a giant networking arena where friendships blossom, old acquaintances reconnect, businesses are marketed, and sometimes, love finds a way.\n<\/p>\n

Real estate developer and car rental operator, Chukwuebuka Stanley, sees Okpara Square as more than a fitness ground; it\u2019s also a place of reunion and stress relief.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a well-known place in Enugu. People come here to exercise, meet friends, and transact business. A lot more is going on here. People come to free up burdens through exercise. Most come with local ogene musicians. They dance, have fun, and still exercise their body. I\u2019m not a member of any of the groups because I don\u2019t come here often. Joining is not compulsory. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been coming since 2007. One of the benefits is that you will be fit. You will also meet old friends you never thought you\u2019d see again. Anyone thinking we waste time here does not know what exercise is. It adds to your brain and body. As a man, when you go into the other room with your spouse, you will see the effect. Your partner will thank you for doing a great job.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

For Bernard Nwagu, popularly known as Klassik of Lagos, Okpara Square is both therapy and marketplace. A show host and entertainer, he believes the space offers value beyond fitness.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThis place is special to me. Any Saturday I don\u2019t come here I know something is wrong with me. The main thing is to keep fit, whether fat or slim. I\u2019ve had knee issues since secondary school but coming here helped me heal. What I do is basically walk around with the Ogene people. It\u2019s worthwhile.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is when you grow old that you will fully know the importance of sports. Here, you meet friends and you market whatever you\u2019re doing. This is the best place to advertise your business in Enugu. This place is more important than even radio stations.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce you come here to advertise you must sell because of the personalities here. You might not know that the person beside you is a billionaire. This is the number one marketing zone in Enugu.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Week after week, Okpara Square proves that exercise is more than just physical activity. It is medicine, therapy, social glue, a networking hub, and sometimes even a place where love begins.<\/p>\n

For the thousands who converge there, it is a ritual that sustains body, mind, and spirit, a living testimony to the saying: health is wealth.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From Jude Chinedu, Enugu Every weekend, Okpara Square comes alive with pounding footsteps, bursts of laughter, and the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":89334,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[74771,64,63,99,134,538,137,74770,84,74769,288],"class_list":{"0":"post-103476","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-2023-governorship-election","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-business","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-fitness","14":"tag-health","15":"tag-nigerian-news","16":"tag-politics","17":"tag-sun-newspaper","18":"tag-the-sun"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103476"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103476\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}