Mohiddeen Blog

On January 18th, 2024, I was at Federal University Gashua to collect my Statement of Result, officially confirming my status as a graduate of Computer Science. It marked the completion of a 4-year degree programme that had taken nearly seven years. January 18th was a historic day for me. Coincidentally, it was also the same day six years earlier that I attended my first lecture as an undergraduate student. It was held at the 500-CCH Hall, where Mr. A.A. Okeke taught Introduction to Mathematics (MTH 101) at around 8:15 AM. I remember sitting with my fellow students, Babagana Ali (now a Biochemist), Hussaini Bakau (a Political Scientist), and others, before the arrival of Usman Idris Kafur (a Home Scientist). Don’t be surprised — I document almost everything that happens in my life and rarely forget significant moments. When I arrived home that Thursday with my Statement of Result, the first person I presented it to was Baba Tela, my late paternal grandfather who passed away on October 1...

From the start of my life, I wanted to be almost everything: civil servant, doctor, teacher, journalist, lawyer, singer, lecturer, writer, entrepreneur, scientist, technologist... and even an astronaut. Each time I thought about being one of these personalities, I would dive into research and immerse myself in that identity. However, it is not only me who has suffered from the challenge of standing at the crossroads of countless choices without committing to a single one. This dilemma is deeply rooted in what Barry Schwartz calls the paradox of choice. When presented with too many options, we often feel overwhelmed and paralyzed. Instead of making a choice, we linger in uncertainty, fearing that committing to one path means losing out on others. Philosophically, this aligns with Kierkegaard’s concept of angst - the anxiety that arises from the burden of freedom and responsibility to choose. Malcolm Gladwell, in his Outliers, mentions that one of the problems geniuses face is the overwh...