So I was fortunate to listen to Mr Ugo speak at the GDG techies hangout at Digital dreams ICT academy and every moment of it was priceless.
Have you ever sat down to think about why the Nigeria tech space is still struggling to keep its head above the waters for decades now?
Look at the likes of Japan and how far they’ve come with electronics, Germany with they are doing with automobiles and to say the least China that started growing their tech eco system just about the time we started out but still way ahead of us.
It’s the fact that the extent of work and time that we need to put in to break records is underestimated. I’m talking about records that would be globally recognized. It’s the fact that our mind set has been conditioned to settle for the average. There’s no strive for excellence while doing a particular project.
The mindset of
“as long as i’m writing codes and getting paid”
There is no quest to do something more than just writing codes and making it mean more.
The problem is deep rooted in the way the school system is set up. First is your lecturer who is ultimately teaching you because he has to feed his family,and not because he’s interested in seeing you grow. You’re stuck with handouts and exam past questions that have been recycled from past years. At the end of the day,you expect to make waves at Silicon Valley based off the junk you were fed in school?
The fact that we glorify the average and it has become a norm because people with the right skill sets are lacking.
It is easy to say I am the baddest programmer in town because people run to you when they choke or after doing something you learn’t from youtube.
You are good, no doubt but has it ever occurred to you that you could be like the proverbial one-eyed man in the midst of blind men.You may not even know you have such problem until you come face to face with the real experts.
The part that struck me the most was when he said
“if you want to hide something from a black man,put it into a book”
The smart tech guys that have made waves in Silicon Valley today know more than the basics, having worked hard for years and had their own fair share of failures and success. It takes a lot of practice, patience and knowledge
So at this point we need to start seeing the importance of creating value first. We need passion, curiosity, grit and the ability to hit the grounds running. Broaden your horizon with things outside of the tech field as well as reading vastly.
Build yourselves to the point that even if you go bankrupt today, you will have the ability to recreate wealth within a short period.
We need to surge our place in the tech space therefore we should start thinking of ourselves as a new breed of Nigeria techies that will make history today.
