[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]As I woke up on the first day of April, I remember thinking, “My Easter vacation is only one week!”. I had pondered for a while on how the Citizenship and Leadership Training (CLT) programme had drastically reduced my holiday from an already short three weeks to one week, which I likened to a mid-term break. I finally decided that I could not spend more than half of my holiday in school and not make it a most memorable experience. Due to the various conversations I engaged in with my seniors on their CLT experience, I had an idea of what to expect and was honestly looking forward to it. Looking back, I can say my experience was definitely worth my fourteen days of holiday and it was indeed both challenging and fun.
The programme officially kicked off at around noon on the first of April with the handingover ceremony where our principal, Father Alexander Irechukwu handed us over to the Man O’ War instructors. Mrs. Pepple, the coordinator, gave us a short introductory speech and taught us our first Man O’ War song, “There is a place in Aluu”. By the evening of that day, we had been grouped into sections of fourteen individuals, apart from the last section which was made up of thirteen, and I was placed in Eniade section. As a proud member of Eniade section, I can attest to the high level of cooperation and synergy that existed within the team and enabled us to succeed in some of the competitions. We were very different people with even more diverse ideas, but we were able to harness the unique contributions of each member of the team to accomplish our goals, bond and make memories within those two weeks, which made my Man O’ War an experience worth remembering.
In the days that followed, I learnt many lessons and gained many leadership “nuggets” from the activities we were mandated to participate in. One of the biggest takeaways I got from the Man O’ War was teamwork. I was someone who would rather do the most work in a group to ensure a project or task was completed perfectly than delegate the work to someone else. However, the Man O’ War reinforced the need for me to step away from undertaking the work myself, encouraging and supporting team members to carry out their share of group tasks and taught me to be patient with team members who required additional time to get their tasks done. Activities such as the Treasure Hunt made me trust in the abilities of others and sharpened my communication and understanding skills – skills necessary when working in a team and fundamental for being a good leader.
Another lesson I gained from the Man O’ War was critical thinking. From the initiative test to the instructional test, many Man O’ War activities required you to think outside the box. The Man O’ War activities encouraged creativity when looking for solutions to problems. Most of the activities enhanced my capacity to be resilient and persistent. I recall searching for the treasure alongside my section members for more than 20 minutes before we finally found it. Moments like those strengthened my determination to achieve set goals.
I do not have a favourite Man O’ War activity because I enjoyed too many of them, but amongst the activities I enjoyed, a few left me with immense feelings of satisfaction. I loved morning exercise, fondly called “Morning Tea” where we exercised in the early hours of the morning, screaming Man O’ War songs at the top of our lungs. The “Three Wise Men” test challenged my ability to communicate with others regardless of limitations such as being deaf, dumb or blind and although it was a bit difficult at first, it became easier and very enjoyable.
My most memorable Man O’ War activity was by far the cooking competition. From the late afternoon till nighttime on the penultimate day of the programme, sections could not only be seen working hard preparing food for the judges but also developing bonds with one another, laughing and talking with Nigerian music in the background. The beauty of it all was developing bonds and friendships in addition to sharpening my culinary skills. With the night sky as the backdrop and Nigerian music in the background, I felt lucky to have been part of such an enriching program.
In conclusion, I would like to sincerely thank the JMC management for providing me with this opportunity for growth. I express my gratitude to the Man o’ War instructors, especially my section officers, Mr. Victor and Madam Charity, for the significant amount of learning I gained through them. Finally, I thank my section members, for the challenges we overcame, the joys we shared and the memories we created. I enjoyed every bit of it!
OZOH Kayla Eziafakaku
Class of 2025[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”7441″ img_size=”500*500″][/vc_column][/vc_row]