Being The First Nigerian VMware Expert — My Journey So Far
A few years back, if I was asked about being a VMware vExpert, my response could possibly have been “Don’t joke, that’s not meant for a local man like me”. Although I believe in dreams and actions, sometimes, a dream may look unrealistic from afar until you get closer and achieve it. I knew little about Virtualization and Cloud Computing but I have learned so fast from passionate advocates, the likes of Ekundayo Michael, Dotun Adeyemi and the Local VMware team in Nigeria, and leader Deji Akomolafe (a Program Manager and Global Staff Solutions Architect at VMware), Deji, who works for VMware and has a dream to enable Africans to Virtualize Africa.
I am a tech advocate. My technical knowledge and skill go beyond front-end development. I have developed an interest in technical writing, psychology and technology advancement across Africa. I am a passionate ecosystem builder with a vision to spread goodness to other places. My first encounter with Virtualization and Cloud Computing was in 2018 when I was preparing to host the maiden edition of the Kwarabuild conference. I deployed the event web app online with a broken email. After several weeks of deployment, I received a complaint about the email link being broken. Feeling ashamed of the error, I responded very quickly by fixing it before my team members noticed. The complainer was too generous to reconfirm the mail. He gave us a great offer we could consider, a hope for the future generation.
That offer motivated us at Kwarabuild to bring the tech ecosystem alive. We had only dreamt about it with a very low financial backup but we met a change-maker via a broken mail error. Deji Akomolafe offered to speak from the United States and to sponsor the event through his company VMware. At the maiden conference of Kwarabuild in 2018, Deji Akomolafe spoke on Virtualization and Cloud Computing which was a very strange topic to 95% of our total attendees. Being a great speaker, we were all carried along with his presentation were a laid emphasis on why Virtualization and Cloud Computing is the next big thing for Africa.
This is how my journey in Virtualization started. It wasn’t as tough as I expected. I had access to resources through the VMware IT Academy program. I also attended webinars on Cloud computing. My favorite moment was when we organized a Bootcamp on Virtualization and Cloud Computing where we recorded over 100 attendees, many of whom are now learning to acquire their VCP6-DCP.
After Kwarabuild Tech Community approved VMware IT Academy, we have been struggling with challenges such as Inadequate Electricity as participants mostly do not have a stable power supply to work with personal computers to ace through the study and tasks on the Vmware IT Academy. Another challenge is Unreliable Internet Access and Costly Data Subscription. Internet access provided by the various ISP is expensive as they are unreliable. Therefore, participants had to pause their learning several times during the weeks of the program due to lack of internet access or because they could not afford the data subscription plans provided by the ISPs. As Rome was not built in a day, we believe that with consistency and in time, we shall overcome these challenges and give the best-desired value for our community members.
The VMware vExpert did not just fly in for me, it was achieved through hard work and consistency. The program was VMware’s global evangelism and advocacy program. It is basically designed to put VMware’s marketing resources towards our advocacy efforts. It is very important and the value is top-notch. It will provide an opportunity for me to create a network with influential people, engineers, cloud experts, and community advocates. It also paves the way for me to learn some new things at a very fast pace.
Never be afraid of starting something new, because life gets boring when you stay within the limits of what you already know
I am indeed honored to be awarded a vExpert for 2020 and the only selected winner from Nigeria. I am excited to be part of dedicated people with a special interest in helping their communities know more about Virtualization Cloud computing. What is most amusing about getting this award is not the certification but the access to a pool of experts and industry peers that will enhance my self-development.
Special thanks to VMware and VMUG Nigeria team, the Virtualize Africa Team, Kwarabuild Team, Friends, family, Don Sullivan, Everline Kamau, Rachel Onamusi and Deji Akomolafe for the honor. I hope to impact more people, continue to evangelize and contribute to the community at large.
