In this interview with Ahmad Adeniyi Sharafudeen, we gain an insider’s perspective on the world of coding through the eyes of this genius.
Ahmad Adeniyi Sharafudeen, a recipient of the Bayero University Scholarship throughout his academic years, shares how focus, determination, and regular self-assessment paved the way for his coding career.
I’d like you to start by introducing yourself to our readers and sharing a bit of your background with us.
My name is Ahmad Adeniyi Sharafudeen. I’m originally from Ogbomosho, Oyo State, to be precise.
But I was born in Saudi Arabia at a time when my dad was pursuing his PhD. We later moved back to Nigeria.
What inspired you to choose computer science as your major course at the university?
It was an encouragement I got from my friends who were studying computer science at Lautech, Ogbomosho. Back then, I was still in secondary school.
They were so passionate about software development. I remember then that they were developing a school management system that would manage all the activities of a typical primary and secondary school.
It seemed cool, even though I did not know much about what was going on behind the scenes.
I initially thought of going for civil engineering at FUTA, but I wasn’t admitted even though I had met the cut-off mark. So because of my passion and my friends, who inspired me, I went for computer science.
One of the friends who inspired me is Yusuf Oguntola, who is currently the Chief Technology Officer at AFEX Technology.
Can you tell us about your academic journey and notable achievements?
I have always been at the top of my class since my primary and secondary school days.
I remember a teacher telling me that hope I’m not a village champion and that when I get into the university, hope I will be able to keep up this excellence.
You know, then, most of my classmates were from my local community. What he said stayed in the back of my mind when I sat for my SSCE and even when I was at the university.
I did a National Diploma at Oyo State College of Agriculture and Technology before I went to Bayero University.
At the Polytechnic, I got a distinction, and I was also the best graduating student.
When I got to Bayero University in 200 level , I got to know that the best student had a 4.89. I never aimed to be the best student. I was determined to do my best. I had a 5.0 throughout my 200-level In the 300-level, I had a B, but most of my grades in school were A’s.
When you were in school, was there a particular course or courses you found challenging?
One thing that has helped me in my academic and now professional life is that I always have it at the back of my mind that if something is worth doing well at all, I should do it well.
There was this course Data Structures and Algorithms. The reason the course was challenging could be the approach the lecturer took in delivering the contents of the course.
So what I did was outsource materials, and I did not limit myself to the examples given by the lecturer. I widened my scope of reading.
I also found out that most of my colleagues felt I knew those courses early on and usually came to me for explanations on those courses, this also helped me.
I would also say a course called Compiler Construction, we did it in 300 and 400 levels. It had to do with how programming languages are created. I had A’s in these courses.
One habit I had was that I always accessed myself at different times during the semester, particularly mid-semester, at least 2 or 3 weeks before the exam.
I would grade myself on how well I’m doing in my courses and what needs to be done. This is a form of self-reflection that has helped me a lot.
Aside from the courses that were quite challenging, were there other obstacles you encountered during your studies, and how did you address them?
I won’t lie, they were, you know the situation of hostels in public universities. The hostels are not favourable for reading, you would have to visit the library.
I didn’t stay in the school hostel though, I stayed in a boy’s quarters at the staff quarters, but there were others in the room. To be able to read, I had to go back and forth to the library.
There were different periods when there were strikes and the library and lecture halls were locked, most students had to read with street lights. I think it was this semester that I got a B. When I couldn’t go to the library, I did my best to focus.
What I will say is that one has to focus on their goals because there are a lot of distractions at the university. I didn’t involve myself in those distractions, and in order not to be derailed, I carried out self-assessments regularly.
Also, what motivated me to pick Bayero University was that I wanted to be familiar with a new language and a new culture.
But the weather condition in Kano wasn’t favorable, especially for someone coming from the South West, the harmattan season was intense, and then there was also the hot weather condition.
There were also lots of mosquitoes, and people always wondered how I was able to read with the hot weather and the mosquitoes. It takes a lot of dedication, actually.
Were you able to learn the language? And what part of their culture intrigued you?
Yes, I was able to. I won’t say I’m perfect, but to a large extent, I understand the Hausa language.
There are parts of their culture that might be surprising to someone, particularly how they marry themselves and how simple their marriage ceremonies are.
They don’t take a lot of time. The husband gifts his wife, while the bride’s family also give gifts to the husband, most especially household appliances and furniture.
How did you balance reading to gain knowledge with studying to get good grades?
I will say there is a lot of overlap between the two.
Most of my colleagues would complain about the relevance of learning other courses like mathematics when they were studying to become software engineers in the future.
I would always say those courses helped with critical thinking because, primarily, what we did was programming, so we had to be able to think very well.
And also, during my school years, I was also honing my programming skills, which made me able to relate what I was learning outside the classroom to what we did in class.
I remember during my 200lvl, we did a course called web programming, we had a project, and we were grouped for a presentation.
The project was to develop a website, and I was the one who created and developed the website. During the presentation, the lecturer didn’t believe I created the website, he thought I copied it.
He didn’t believe me until he checked the codes and put me through a question-and-answer session.
He later invited me to his office, motivated me, and even to date, we still talk.
So would you say this particular lecturer was your mentor in school and contributed to your academic success?
Yes, he was. He gave me an advice back then in school that I didn’t understand then, but I do now.
He was actually the one who prepared our results, and the moment he saw that a student had a 5.0, he was surprised and invited me to his office after the results came out
He told me
“Do not think that because you are now having these grades, you will take the position of a lecturer. You should focus more on coding because, at the end of the day, in Nigeria, teaching does not pay. What pays more is tech.”
Occasionally, he would give me courses to read.
There’s also a lecturer who related a story about when we were freshmen in school, he said the first time he had a 5.0, he was very happy, he was very glad, and he was proud of himself even before he told his parents.
He told us that we should be happy and proud of ourselves whenever we achieve something because our names will be on it. This also had a lasting impact on me.
Do you think coding in school is different from coding outside of school?
I will say that coding, like any other skill, is quite hard, and like anything that has rewards, you will have to pass through some tough times.
One has to pay the price. Some people will come and say they want to learn coding because of how high the pay is, but the moment they start, they run away because they are not prepared for the challenges.
I would say that it is good and better for a student to face the challenges early on.
In school, there are not many responsibilities on you, you are basically meant to focus on your studies.
So you can use that time to focus on learning coding because, outside of school, you will be faced with a lot of challenges.
Also, since tech is a wide industry, it is good to be specific about what you want to learn and know your capabilities.
An advice I used to share with junior colleagues then was that they should look into the job requirements of the job role they want to apply for after school and focus on the set of skills required for that job.
While in school, I was also doing side jobs for people, but working professionally now, there are a lot of experiences to gain because your codes are reviewed. But then in school, nobody reviewed my codes, and I thought they were good enough.
What internship opportunities did you participate in in school, and what was your takeaway from that internship opportunity?
I participated in an internship that really helped me a lot. It was called AFEX Tech Stars (ATS).
We were the first cohort of the program, which took place in Ibadan in my penultimate year at Bayero University, Kano. We were software engineering interns exposed to a number of real-life experiences.
When you are coding on a personal level, you tend to battle with imposter syndrome. You will not know if you are good enough, but when you join a good internship, you will know that yes! you are good.
After three months of the program, we did an assessment, and some of us were dropped after the evaluation.
To God be the glory, I was the best backend engineering intern.
That really exposed me to a number of professionals in the field of computing and technology, such that after graduation it was very easy to continue.
