Meet Segun Ojo, a 16-year-old front-end developer from Lagos, Nigeria. Despite being in his final year of secondary school, Segun has already established himself as a rising star in the tech industry. Since he started coding seriously last year, he has worked on about 10 projects, including a recent web app that tracks the stock prices of companies worldwide.
The app, Stock Trader, according to him, can be used to know the stock price of different companies. ‘’Maybe you want to invest in some companies, you can just search the names of the company and it will bring up the stock price and can even display it in a graph whether the stock has increased over the years or has reduced. He added.
Like many young people in Nigeria, Segun has faced some challenges in his tech journey, such as unreliable electricity and a lack of funds for data. However, he has found support and motivation from tech communities such as Genztechie and KTC, as well as like-minded individuals on Twitter.
Segun’s dedication to his craft is evident in his time management skills, which allow him to balance schoolwork and coding. He plans his day carefully, ensuring that he reads and codes every day so that he is well-prepared for exams. “I just plan my day and do everything. I have a schedule and make sure that every day I read and I also code so it won’t be too bulky for me when the exam comes.” he said.
Looking to the future, Segun sees himself as the CEO of a tech company that inspires and supports other young people in tech. He currently knows five programming languages, including HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React js, and Python.
Beyond tech, Segun is also a talented musician and plays the piano. He credits his parents with encouraging his interest in tech, having introduced him to a coding Bootcamp when they saw his passion for fixing things around the house.
When asked about the problems he would like to solve in Nigeria, Segun is passionate about addressing the issue of voting. He would like to develop a system that allows people to vote from the comfort of their homes, eliminating the risk of rigging and ensuring that everyone can see the live vote count.
“One problem I would like to solve is the problem of going to the polling unit to vote because in Nigeria anything can happen, snatching of ballot boxes, rigging of elections and people can get injured too and even get threatened to vote for the candidates they want. I would like to develop a system so that people can vote from the comfort of their homes and in that system, there wouldn’t be a chance for rigging and everyone will be able to see the live votes as people are voting”
Despite his youth, Segun is an inspiring figure in the Nigerian tech community, and his passion for coding and helping others is sure to take him far in the industry.
