David Onilude: Change-Maker

I remember telling my parents I was not going to be a missionary. 

My dad, displeased with what he was hearing, said to me “we will see about that”. My mom, however, asked me one day “David, do you know you are a missionary?” I said, “No, I am not a missionary, I am a changemaker”. Then she retorts, “What do you do as a change-maker?” Being eager to disprove her assertion, I respond “As a change-maker, I reach out to people in rural communities and give them access to digital literacy”. I sensed she was satisfied with my answer and I had gotten my point across. She then asks a final question, “What does your dad do as a missionary?” I respond “he reaches out to people in rural communities and preaches the gospel of Christ”. I got her point. I am indeed a missionary.

I wasn’t born in Badagry, I got there when I was 3 months old. Badagry is a rural community but I grew up in Badagry West which is the “backyard” of Badagry. It is like living in a village that is inside another village. “How many hours of electricity do we get?” Zero. We don’t have access to electricity. It’s not like there are electric poles and power isn’t constant, there isn’t any at all, till today. I remember we only put on a generator twice a week from 7:00 to 11:00 pm, that was the only means of electricity. Growing up this way wasn’t normal but it was all I knew.

My parents were very keen on education, themselves being well-educated. In my community, if a girl gets to the final year of junior secondary school, chances are that she will drop out. She then goes on to become a tailor or gets pregnant. If she is smart & focused, she gets to finish school. However, after leaving secondary school, she is told to look for a leaf we call “èwè aframo” which is used to wrap a local dish known as “moimoi” which she then sells. The boys either had to take up carpentry, bricklaying, or smuggling which was common. This is the perpetuating cycle for people in my community. 

I was lucky because of the parents I had. I attended the best schools Badagry West could offer and my education was relatively fast. I won't say I'm an A+ student, but I am smart and outspoken. When you are talking about “that smart boy” in my community, you are talking about the Onilude family. At age 16/17, I was done with secondary school and immediately got admitted into the University of Ilorin for my A levels. This was my first time leaving my community, leaving home. I always had the feeling of wanting to leave home and explore the world, but after a few days away, reality hit me. My emotions were all over the place; the excitement of meeting new friends, adjusting to so many things at the same time, and peer pressure from friends. I had to balance having to not be exempted from my group of friends and holding on to the values I had learned from home.

A-levels lasted for 9 months. It was during this time, I knew I had so much in me. Growing up in Sunday school at home, I knew I had the boldness to speak for people to listen to but never took it seriously until I began to speak in school and people would listen. I was surrounded by the best friends one could wish for, El Shaddai, Leke, & Emmanuel. We were different people from different backgrounds but encouraged each other to be better.

I became aware of how digitally less inclined I was at a camp meeting I attended in 2018. It was a 3-day event for young people making a difference in their communities. I met inspiring individuals from all over Africa doing impactful work in their communities. This experience led to a journey of self-discovery and committing to sustainable development.

Fast Forward to 2020, when the lockdown hit, I went back to Badagry West where we still lived our normal lives. I recognized a big problem - many young people didn’t have basic computer skills. It felt normal when I was still here but this time, it didn't feel normal. It became glaring to me how underserved the community was. As missionaries, my parents had a great sense of love and service to both God & humanity. As one too (a change maker/missionary), having gone from barely having any experience with computer science until I got to the university, saw a need to empower my community with digital skills. New people had come into the community who had laptops so I spoke to two of them who I had become friends with, “Let us organize a digital literacy training!”.

I had no idea what I was in for. I wanted to teach three communities. Six villages away from mine is a community called Apà - it had a king, chiefs, and a town hall. We reached out to these leaders making our intentions known, that we wanted to teach the young people in the community & neighboring communities digital literacy. We also requested to make use of their town hall as it was the biggest of all the communities. Long story short: we got a No. I was crippled, well, almost. My mom and dad who were in support of what I wanted to do eventually found a big primary school where I could hold this training; they got the head teacher of the school to consent, got a generator for power, and chairs for the students. It was finally going to happen.

The training happened, and we taught about 300 people out of which 230 graduated. I still remember the graduation ceremony; the smiles on the faces, the appreciation for what we had done, and how everyone was happy. We knew we were making a difference, we were doing something that mattered. I also got a surprise grant during this period for my efforts as a government official recognized my work (thanks to my mom's connections). I also got to talk about the work we had begun on radio and this further boosted our efforts.

From that moment, the scope of our impact expanded. Tech Now Global, the organization born from the local initiative in Badagry, became a vehicle that saw us reaching different states and communities, bringing digital literacy to underserved communities. From rural Badagry, I became a change-maker on a national scale. I am driven by a singular belief - change must begin with me. With every project, training, and smile brought to the faces of young minds, everyone who has become digitally literate, my resolve is strengthened. I continue to be a missionary, a change-maker driven by the force of love and a heart for humanity.