This morning, DevChronicles has the privilege of presenting to you the manga reading, Bollywood loving, unapologetic nerd - Jemima Abu.
Jemima is a Self taught Front end Developer, a School taught Systems Engineer and an inborn Feminist. Right from the early days of her career, she's been making waves in the tech Ecosystem. She's published articles, and given talks at seminars such as Devfest Ibadan, Jamstack Lagos, Frontstack and many more. Jemima made time out of her busy schedule to give Developers Chronicles, and you our audience a glimpse into her personal life and schedule, both as a Developer and as a manga loving person. We hope you enjoy every bit of it.
Good morning Jemima, please, tell us a bit about yourself
Good morning. So, I'm Jemima Abu, I am 22 years old, currently living in Lithuania where I work with Telesoftas as a front end developer.
It’s nice to be able to have this conversation. Before we move on, do you enjoy working at your current company?
Yes, very much actually.
What makes it such an enjoyable place to work at?
Well for starters, It's one of those places where you feel like the work you're doing actually matters and they treat you like an actual person and not just a cog in the corporate wheel. Like when I was two weeks into the job, I got to travel with some senior members of the team to meet with potential clients in another city and experience the business aspect of making pitches and all. We also had dinner in this mad fancy restaurant with like a 5-course meal so yeah, enjoyment is a great word for it.
Any personal goals you were able to accomplish this year? If there were, do tell?
Yes, there actually are. In order they are: Leaving Nigeria, speaking at conferences, and getting my own apartment.
When you want to work on a project, can you describe your flow?
If I'm working on a personal project, it's probably to learn a new technology and/or build something I need to use. Basically, I decide what stack I want to use (my go-to stack is usually HTML, CSS, and plain JavaScript), then I start fleshing out the logic and functionality. Once that's done, I work on the design and that's it.
Are you currently learning any new technology?
Yes, Tailwind. It is a CSS framework that might prove to be pretty handy in the future.
Learning a new technology can be quirky some times. What is the worst bug you’ve encountered while learning a new technology or even while working on a project?
Probably something stupid that was caused by a typo. The most recent one I can recall is trying to debug some ambiguous "style configuration object error" I was getting. I spent about two hours on it and it turned out there was a value defined as 'grey' instead of 'gray'. Mad stuff. Oh and anything Docker-related. I use Windows so Docker is constantly trying to murder me with errors.
Ah, Docker on windows. May the force be with you. From research, we’ve gathered that you are an active feminist and you take feminism very seriously. Do you mind telling us what drives you?
I think I've just always advocated for my and by extension every woman's right to choose even before I knew there was a name for it. The drive to fight for this cause has always been with me; maybe I was born with it.
A zeal you were born with. I am sure you are a role model to a lot of ladies out there. Do you have any role models in the tech sphere? If yes, Who?
Ire, Moyin, Odun, Gift, Adora, Edidiong, Ada. Basically any girl in tech space who is present and visible is a great role model because that's the kind of representation I was looking for when I first started in tech.
Apart from building awesome applications, do you have any non-tech-related hobbies?
Yes, I do. I love reading manga(Japanese comics), watching Bollywood movies and listening very energetically to Bollywood songs, vibing, yoga, saying I'm just going to window shop then inevitably giving in and buying something.
Any projects you've worked on in your spare time?
Most of my projects are things I've worked on in my spare time. There's a list here: jemimaabu.com/work.html
Thank you for the reference. How do you handle quality control in your projects?
Well, it mostly depends on what I am working on. There's usually a set of standards for every project so pretty much just adhering to that is how I manage quality.
Is there any website or app that annoys you, if Yes, What's wrong with it?
Nairaland. It's just so ugly :'(
Lol, please don't piss off an entire ecosystem on our first day. What's your favorite mobile application then?
I creep around on Twitter a lot but I wouldn't say it's my favorite. My category of apps would be: My stress reliever -Tumblr. My most used - Mangago. I've gotten really into this Episode app lately but that's probably a fleeting fancy. So many apps to choose from.
What's your secret "Code pet peeve" that doesn't really matter, but drives you really crazy?
Inconsistent indentation. It just makes my skin crawl.
What do you wish more people would ask or talk to you about?
I wish people would ask me if I want food. I like to talk in general so talk to me about anything and I'll be alright.
In your line of work, how do you respond to negative feedback?
It depends on how it's intended. If it's constructive criticism, I'll take it into account. If it's unnecessary, I'll ignore it. If it's spiteful, block and report.
Ever been blamed for something that wasn't your fault?
Lmao, because why? I don't even like to accept blame for things that are actually my fault, why would I now take the one that isn't my fault.
Lol, cheeky, aren't you? Earlier, you stated you read manga in your spare time. What's your favorite Manga?
I was reading this really nice one called Demons. Can't Be Pretty, but it's been recently completed so that's sad. I loved Solo Levelling! Currently, I'm really into Mairimashita Iruma-Kun, Weak Hero, Mashle: Magic and Muscles, and a whole bunch of isekai and villainess redemption fics.
That’s quite the list. I’m sure someone would find something worth their time from it. With that said, do you have any words of wisdom for our audience? Particularly, what mistakes do you advice code newbies to watch out for and avoid in their tech journey?
Falling into the trap of trying to know everything or learn every new technology. It's better to just pick one language and work with it than to know a bunch of different languages but have nothing to show for it.
Finally, before we end this part of today's episode, where do you see yourself in 2030?
Alive, for one. Other than that, wherever's fine.
Wise expectations. Life in good health, no greater gift. It has been a great honor to be able to have this conversation with you.
Thanks for having me.
Chatting with Jemima was awesome for us, and we are sure that her free and charming personality made flowing with the conversation enjoyable for you too. To follow her up, her details are available below. Tune in again this evening for another awesome conversation. We would be hosting Micheal Ikechi, a Senior Consultant to Andela Nigeria and a Software Engineer at the BBC. It promises to be an awesome night.
Twitter: twitter.com/jemimaabu LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jemimaabu