Interview with Young Programmer, Web App & Website Developer in Nigeria

Can you introduce yourself and what motivated you to app development or / and learning programming?

I am Segun Ibidokun, a graduate of Computer Science with Economics from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. I chose to study Computer Science out of my love for computer and computer related devices (or gadgets)

I hardly had money on me while on campus and more importantly, i had no PC to work on my own, so, studying computer science was a tough one for me.

Getting materials to read was also a challenge but could get things going with the assistance of well-meaning individuals/classmates who always help me in this regard.

Some even advised me then to change my course/department to less tasking ones on campus where I will be able to meet the demands of the course but i resisted because i love solving computational problems and i’m quite sound with mathematics and logical reasoning.

I resorted to cramming lines of codes to implement on my friends’ computer when they are less busy with their PC. This was not an easy one for me but i was determined to understand the ‘tricks’ behind making computers solving problems.

Throughout my years in the university, i always keep myself updated on the latest developments in the programming world even though i hardly had the opportunity to practise. (Little wonder, a friend of mine who’s also into software programming, during NYSC was astonished the day I told him I understood his lines of code which I was able to explain what the code was trying to achieve; this was because I never acted like I did until one thing led to the other during a corper to corper small talks during our free periods).

I was determined that very day I will have complete access to a computer system (Well, I now have one to the glory of God!) to aid my mastery of a programming language of choice.

I have a lot of friends out there in the software industry who motivated as well as challenged me to become a software developer, all through our days in the university and they’re still helpful even till date.

The likes of Boyewa Richards of Konga Nigeria, Bolaji Ladokun of Arvato Financial Solutions, Estonia, Niyi Adedotun of Wakanow Nigeria, Damilola Oduronbi of Konga Nigeria, and also my buddy since NYSC days, Kolapo Bankole of Software Alliance and Resources Ltd Nigeria.

What’s your specialization in app development/programming and can you briefly tell us what is special about it? 

As of today, I specialize in website and web application development. Mastering these two areas of programming gives you the opportunity to determine your income and it involves “less stress”.

More importantly, as a web developer or web application developer, you don’t have to be a member of staff of any company. You are your own boss. You can get paid for what you love doing from your home. I have a website I built for a start up in the United States of America through a referral. I have never met the owner of the company before. So there is no limit to what you can do or the level you can attain in this field.

Tell us what you’ve mastered and what you intend to achieve in the future. If you have laudable achievement in app development/programming, let us know.

Well, the area of web and web application development is quite vast but with determination and focus, one can become grounded in the field within a couple of years.

The ultimate in the field is full stack development which i aspire to reach someday soon.

I’m comfortable with PHP, JavaScript, HTML, CSS and i have a mastery of these programming languages for building websites and web applications to a large extent. Although, there is no limit to further improvement for me. I also know much about and work with web application programming interfaces (api) and relational database management systems such as Microsoft SQL, PostgreSQL and Oracle’s MySQL.

Knowledge, they say, is power. All these were achieved through self-study/practice as well as mentorship and guidance from the people I mentioned earlier.

Also, tell us if you are taking it as passion or as job. Please, specify those you have worked with if you are taking it as career?

Programming to me is both a thing of passion as well as a career choice for me.

I currently work with a real estate firm in Lagos, Nigeria as an IT analyst in charge of the company’s IT needs, be it web, graphics design and IT support. I’m also a freelance developer.

Contacts
Email: oibidokun@dislng.com
Mobile: 08060369561
Website: www.dislng.com