In 2005, Chinedu was just a young boy in Enugu with nothing but a dream. His parents were poor; his father a mechanic, and his mother a petty trader who sold foodstuff by the roadside. Life was a daily struggle. Sometimes, they ate only once a day.
But one thing stood out—Chinedu loved computers. Anytime he saw people in a cyber café, he would sneak in just to watch how they typed and surfed the internet. Most times, the café attendants chased him away, thinking he was wasting space. Still, his passion burned.
When he finished secondary school, there was no money for university. Many of his friends gave up on education and turned to quick money-making schemes. Chinedu, however, refused to give up. He worked as a bus conductor in the mornings and sold phone accessories in the evenings. Every night, he borrowed computer books from a local library and taught himself how to code—without even owning a computer.
Years later, luck came when a family friend, impressed by his determination, gifted him an old laptop. That was the turning point. Chinedu practiced day and night, learning programming through free online resources. After months of sleepless nights, he built a small website for a local business. They paid him a little, but that “little” gave him confidence that his dream was valid.
One day, a big company noticed his work and offered him a contract. That single job opened doors to many others. Fast forward to today, Chinedu is a successful tech entrepreneur, running his own software company in Lagos and training hundreds of young Nigerians for free.
When people ask him how he made it, he always smiles and says:
“I didn’t wait for perfect conditions. I started with what I had, where I was, and I never gave up.”
His story proves that poverty may delay your dream, but it cannot kill it—if you refuse to quit.
