Published: 2021-05-27 22:40:01 +0100

Let me tell you the story of Man O War!

I met man O war during a leadership training camp in Nigeria. They stayed on an island a boat ride away from Apapa, a town to the north of the mainland Lagos.

Man O war has a huge presence so much so that I could feel it on the boat ride to the island! The sea was blue at first but almost as if I was crossing the border to man O war territory there was a thick green line in the sea and when we crossed it, Everything changed! Where the sea was once a clear blue, was now a thick green, to my right there was sunken ship, to my left there was a random guy staring at us as he pead into the sea…was he the one that turned the sea green, wait…where was he standing…I can’t see, was he standing on water? How is that possible? Or wait lol he’s just on the edge of the boat woah, I was about to freak out!

Anyway, we arrived at the island, and there they were the legendary Man O war! We climbed off the boat onto the Island, They asked us to drop our bags and introduce ourselves. They were short, stout men in military attire, they looked nice but tough, like if they were laughing they would playfully slap you on the back and accidentally break your spine. So nice guys.

One of them said my name is man O war 1 and this is man O war 2. The first time I heard this I was a bit confused because the way they said it, it sounded like man-or-warr. It should have been Men of war, which by itself is a weird enough name. I mean I’ve met people called Sunday, Monday, Clauraphile, but being called Man of war was a new one. It’s hard to imagine a couple after delivering a baby. Saying delivering you was like battle so we shall name you Man of war. School must have been difficult not because of teachers calling your name on the register but purely because there is never really gonna be a good nickname for you!

Nicknames are important, they are a sign of acceptance to a community. It says we all know you, so here is your community name. It’s both nice and annoying, and I believe one of the hardest struggles a human’s face in their life is getting a proper nickname. But in this case what can you do? Do people call you Man? War? M.O.W? All possibilities are awkward!

Anyway I found out my opinion didn’t matter pretty quickly, this guy’s name is Man o war 1 and his job was to make us run around the island and like it. Honestly, for a 5 am run, it was pretty fun. Not the running part, or the waking up but more the singing. Yeah we were singing at the top of our lungs at 5 am. He had a strong playlist that really got you in the mood for morning sprints like the beautiful “we are running together!” or my favourite “If you are not singing”. It was a call and response, where you repeat what he says. My favourite line being call“if you areee not singing” response “you are a cow” call “if you areee not singing” response “you aree a cow, woof”.

I had a lot of firsts with Man o war 1 and Man o war 2, from going around a minefield, to scaling walls, to getting into a fight. What a time! I felt Man O war’s territory made me a new person, I was no longer a boy, I was a boy O war 23. Because that’s what number I was on the register, yeah it turns out his name wasn’t Man O war 1, it was David! What a twist!