Paying it Forward: Muhammed Baba Muhammed’s Semicolon Story

The good we do today determines what happens in the future. This is my story and my transformation into tech.

My mom died when I was 11, but the kindness she showed to someone while she was alive was repaid to me years later — with someone sponsoring my tech career.

My first introduction to tech came during the three-month break after my first year at university. I was introduced to Python and given a book to read, but I didn’t take it seriously. During the lockdown, motivated by my friend, I started learning courses with the idea of building a platform that could help users search for and download movies.

Consistently, I kept learning, and I began having positive ideas about things I could build to help people. For instance, I thought about creating a rental business platform for a relative because the manual process they used was tedious. After graduating in 2022, I decided to pursue my tech dreams further. That was when my cousin told me about Semicolon. Unsure of what it was, he described it as “a hub filled with developers” where I could get a lot of help from others.

Still exploring my options, I told my mom’s friend, whom I call my aunt, that I was searching for an internship role. I felt I knew enough about tech and just needed a place to work and improve. Being well-connected, she asked where I had in mind. I mentioned two places: Oracle or Semicolon.

Through her connections, she arranged for me to speak with someone at Oracle, who encouraged me to consider Semicolon. She also set up a meeting with Semicolon’s CEO. I thought I was going for a regular interview, so I started studying the software engineering lifecycle and preparing for questions that might be asked of a junior programmer. But Sam Immanuel, Semicolon’s CEO, surprised me.

The first question he asked was, “Why are you here?” As he asked more questions like “Where do you see yourself in 50 years,” I realized I didn’t know enough and needed to learn more. He then told me about the Techpreneurship program and how it could benefit me.

I went home reflecting on my life and next steps. I shared everything with my aunt, and she encouraged me to take the assessment and consider the program. At the time, I didn’t know her plans — I only knew I couldn’t afford it. I explored other options, but none offered what Semicolon did. So, I followed her advice. When I was admitted, she gave me shocking news: she had paid my tuition fees. She said it was the least she could do to honor my mother’s kindness to her.

My backup plan had been NYSC. Before joining the program, I went to camp, and in the first week, I broke my leg and had surgery. This made resuming the program challenging because I faced restrictions leaving home. Eventually, I managed to resume using crutches.

We began classes with Design Thinking, and I quickly realized my class was competitive. We challenged each other, which made us wiser and more determined. Despite the challenges, serving and learning simultaneously was the best part. I made Semicolon my Place of Primary Assignment (PPA), which meant I only had to attend Community Development Service CDS meetings once a week. Plus, the NYSC stipend went a long way.

The program was rigorous. It made me very disciplined and time-conscious. I would never have been able to learn that quickly on my own. When we completed our demo, I was incredibly proud of myself. The fact that I could build a telemedicine app to reduce patient waiting times and write APIs showed just how far I had come.

Becoming who I am today is the result of many people. From my mom, who invested in my future through her kindness to others, to her friend, who funded my dream, and Semicolon, which provided the facility and support to help me become a better version of myself.

My experience at Semicolon has taught me a valuable lesson: to strive for excellence and leave a mark through my work. I want to be someone whose impact speaks louder than a CV. Most importantly, I want to honor my mom’s legacy by paying it forward and helping many others, just as I was helped.