
I'm Samson Odo, and I live in Nigeria, where I'm building the future of tech.
For as long as I can remember, I've been enchanted by computers—the way they hum with possibility, turning lines of code and streams of data into something magical. My first laptop, when I was 12, was a beat-up hand-me-down with a keyboard that looked fine but acted like it had a mind of its own. The second I turned it on, it would start typing random letters, like it was trying to write its own novel. I dove into Youtube, learned how to crack open the chassis, and unplugged that faulty keyboard from the board. With an external keyboard plugged in, I was off to the races, exploring this new digital landscape like I'd just walked through a portal.
Even before that, I had an ancient desktop that was my entire universe. As long as the electricity held up, I'd spend every waking hour messing around on it, simply soaking in the joy of discovery. I'd try every piece of software I could get my hands on, from clunky paint programs to random utilities, just to see what they could do. Over the years, I dove into 3D modeling, hacked together web designs, and tinkered with programming. Whatever sparked my curiosity. My mind was a playground, running wild with ideas, and I've always been obsessed with learning as much as I can about tech, chasing every possibility it offers.
By 14, I was hooked on building and breaking things in code. I built a clunky but proud website and tinkered with unlocked phones, tweaking root access to ditch loading screens. Those late nights poking at device guts taught me how data flows, sparking my love for solving real problems with tech.
That obsession still drives me. I'm always jotting down random ideas — some brilliant, some totally out there — on anything from napkins to my phone's notes app. Today, I'm the founder and CTO of NodeShift Nigeria, where we're building AI-native infrastructure to empower emerging markets. It's about taking that same curiosity and turning it into tech that makes a difference for people across Nigeria and beyond.