Happy Birthday Ekene: The Boy Who Taught the World to Code
“You were born for this.” That’s what I often whisper to myself now. But there was a time I wasn’t so sure.
I was born on July 28th, and for many years, it was just another day. Cake. Laughter. Maybe some jollof rice and music. But these days, when I look at the calendar, that date stirs something deeper. It reminds me how far I’ve come — not just as a tech trainer, but as a boy who once stared at a dusty Toshiba laptop with 512MB RAM, wondering if he could ever do anything that mattered.
I didn’t come from Silicon Valley. I came from Lagos, where Wi-Fi wasn’t free, and computer labs were rare. But I had something stronger than access: I had hunger. The kind of hunger that made me Google HTML tags at midnight. That made me wait for slow Visafone connections just to open a tutorial. That made me say yes to teaching, even when I was still learning myself.
Somehow, that hunger turned into Firstac Academy. Then Pepe Programming Hub. Then physical classes at Clasam Schools. Then learners from the UK, the US, the streets of Idimu — all logging in to learn from that same boy who once edited photos on Photoshop after being trained by a photographer called Award Photos.
But here’s the truth: It’s not about code. It’s about connection. It’s about helping a child see the magic behind a blinking cursor. It’s about watching someone’s confidence grow with every line of JavaScript. It’s about using tech to heal, to inspire, and to dream.
Today, as I turn a year older, I don’t just celebrate age. I celebrate impact.
To my non-tech followers: Thank you for cheering me on, even when you didn’t know what I was building. To my tech friends: Thank you for challenging me, pushing me, and coding alongside me.
And to the 15-year-old version of me: You did it, boy. You’re doing it still. And we’re not done yet.
See the Pen Happy Birthday to Myself by Agunechemba Ekene (@agunechemba) on CodePen.
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