Currently, the Urhobo tribe convenes the children, teenagers, and adults for daily training. They begin by narrating to the children tales of the war's onset, its origins, and its ongoing nature.
The war precipitated the initiation of warfare training in childhood, rather than waiting until adulthood, beginning as early as age eight.
"Pah pah pah"
The sound of punches echoed throughout the tribe as children as young as the age of eight years old begin their training. the tribe leader believe that teaching warfare skill from a young age will give them an edge in the ongoing conflict someday.
As the training continues, Akpobor the young teenager stands out. Akpobor stands tall for his age, with a sturdy and lean build honed from years of training and hunting. His dark skin is smooth and shines in the sun, his eyes deep and brown like the rich earth of his homeland.
A mop of unruly black dread crowns his head, despite his rough nature of his lifestyle there's an undeniable charm to his youthful features, softened by a warm and infectious smile that reaches his eyes.
All the other children, except for a select few, viewed him with envy. Since the tender age of eight, he wasn't exceptional; he was merely average compared to his peers at that time. Suddenly orphaned by the war, he became resolute, skilled, and brave. Despite the loss of his parents, his smile remained steadfast.
The training is rigorous, emphasizing hand-to-hand combat, archery, and strategy. Historically, the various tribes in Nigeria have gauged their strength in percentages, with true warriors surpassing the 10% mark, while beginners linger between 1-9%.
Overcoming the 10% threshold, a process known as breaking through the barrier, is a challenge many face for a lifetime. However, the recent war has pushed many to surpass this bottleneck and advance further.
Different types of thresholds exist, each associated with a particular training style.
The speed threshold allows one to exceed personal limits and achieve new levels of performance, the strength threshold directly boosts one's strength, and the toughness threshold enhances one's resilience and ability to withstand more hits.
In the Urhobo tribe, only the chief and the elders have surpassed two thresholds. Once an individual surpasses these two thresholds, they are made an elder regardless of age.
At the training camp, there was a group of talented teens distinct from Akpobor.
Among them was Eruvwu, the most beautiful girl in the tribe, with hair as vast and lush as the forest and blue eyes that glowed like the sky.
Fejiro stood out with the largest build among the teens, a solid and rigid face, bushy eyebrows, and a bald forehead.
Eseoghene was born during a time of dire circumstances for the tribe, and her birth brought luck; hence she was named accordingly.
Egbo was born in the forest, far from the tribe, during a war against the Yorubas, and was thus named.
The training involved various styles to enhance their endurance, speed, strength, reaction time, and craftsmanship skills. Although they were not the best craftsmen, their work was not to be underestimated.
"Halt," shouted one of the tribe's elders. "All children of the Urhobo tribe, get in formation," another elder commanded. "The war is not over yet. Foreign tribes from other countries are entering Nigeria, planning to pit us against each other, consume our resources, take over our lands, and annihilate us. As one of the four major tribes of Nigeria, we cannot allow this to happen. Therefore, we have set aside our differences for the time being to unite against the foreign threat."
Some minor tribes have already defected to the foreign side, allowing themselves to be led by them.
This has led to an increasing number of casualties on both sides. Consequently, instead of waiting for children to grow into adults for training, we have begun training them from a young age. By the time they are grown, they are already significantly stronger than average adults.
Like our four greatest prodigies, who are already on the path to crossing a major threshold, some of you here are as well. At your age in the past, you would have been playing with stones and sand, not even knowing how to hunt. Now, some of you just need a slight push to get past your first threshold, and we, as a tribe, have decided to provide that push.
We will be giving you a hunting challenge. We have not allowed most of you to leave the tribe since birth for your safety due to the war, but now, with a temporary alliance in place, they will not harm you for the sake of peace.
During this challenge, some of you may gain the opportunity to cross the threshold. It is known that under severe stress, the threshold weakens, making it easier to overcome.
Alternatively, you can aim to hunt the greatest number of animals; we will judge based on their weight and the danger they pose. The winner of the challenge will receive assistance from one of the tribe's elders to pass the threshold.
The hunt will begin in two weeks, so you are all expected to train to your utmost capability.
"You're all dismissed," he said. I quickly ran back to my hut; the day's training had exhausted my body. If someone were close to him now, they would see his body trembling with excitement. It had been a long time since he left the tribe; the last time was with his parents when they were still alive. As he remembered his parents, his excitement faded, and he gazed at the necklace his mother had left him—a small brown disk with a glistening blue pearl at its center. This boy was Akpobor.
As the moon shone brightly, a young man practiced his punches, his arms and legs glistening with sweat under the moon's radiance, while the blue pearl on his necklace sparkled.
Akpobor sighed. Before the death of his parents, his mother had given him the necklace, instructing him to protect it and keep it safe, promising it would make him stronger. And just like that, he had risen from being one of the average kids to the level of the four geniuses of the tribe.