Former governor and presidential aspirant of the Labour Party in the 2023 February election, Peter Obi, has hailed the emergence of a Nigerian Teenager as the youngest Certified Amazon Web Service Developer Associate in Africa.
13-yr-old Nigerian programmer, Joshua Agboola, recently took part in a two-hour grueling examination that tested his skills and knowledge in deploying, troubleshooting, and development on the AWS cloud platform and passed with flying colours to clinch the title.
Reacting to the news, Obi said Agboola’s achievement should gladden the hearts of most patriotic Nigerians and urged the young programmer to remain focused on building a great future for himself and a better society for all.
He added: “The recent strides of our youths in the areas of Information Technology indicate that we as a people are ready to partake in the benefits of modern technology.
“This achievement reminds us of the immeasurable roles that education plays in the life of every child. His success story should also inspire our youths to strive hard to develop their skills and seek to always become better in their fields through continuous learning and improvement.
“There is far more honour in the success achieved by utilising talents positively. If leadership inspires hope through competence and transparency with productivity as key goals, our leaders of tomorrow will be directed towards making positive use of their talents instead of diverting efforts to criminality”.
Agboola’s achievement has also received widespread applause from other Nigerians, who recognize the teenager’s remarkable feat in becoming the youngest AWS Developer Associate on the continent.
Speaking in an interview about his accomplishments in the field of IT Agboola said he was encouraged by his father to take his pursuit of a cloud career further by getting certified after his performance in the examination.
He added that though he had developed an interest in DevOps, the popular progression was to go for the Solutions Architect Associate certification, and this was what he did.
“I was initially preparing for the Solutions Architect Associate certification which is the next certification most people take in their AWS cloud journey, but had a change of mind for a tougher developer associate certification due to encouragement from an older friend programmer.
‘’The light bulb went up in my head, and I began studying the next day.
‘’The possibility of clinching the title of the youngest Developer Associate in the world, which is an equivalent of a world record in the cloud space, also became a strong motivation for me,’’ he said.
He said he prepared for the test by studying for about two to five hours daily for about six weeks.
Agboola said the first two weeks of study was to appreciate the core concepts of the course and also gain knowledge of all the topics that could come up in the exam.
According to him, this turned part of study time into revision time and had to cover the content of the Solutions Architect course earlier which gladden me because my practicing has paid off.
The 13-year-old internet sensation said his achievement in the cloud space had gotten noticed, saying “A tech. company in Lagos has already offered to provide me with further technical mentorship”.
He dedicated his achievement to young people who wish to build a career in technology while encouraging the young ones to go for their dreams.
Cloud services are infrastructure, platforms, or software that are hosted by third-party providers and made available to users through the internet.
According to Amazon, getting certified as an AWS Developer Associate showcases knowledge and understanding of core AWS services, and proficiency in developing, deploying, and debugging cloud-based applications.
Amazon said the organizations with AWS certified developers have the assurance of having the right talent to give them a competitive advantage and ensure stakeholders and customers satisfaction.
“Preparing for and attaining this certification gives certified individuals more confidence and credibility,” it added.