Rejected by Nigerian Universities, 24-yr-old Nigerian Software Engineer builds Artificial Intelligence robot at Sri Lankan University

A Nigerian Software Engineering
student, Bobai Ephraim Kato , has
built a functional Artificial
Intelligence robot as his final year
project at the International College of
Business and Technology (ICBT), Sri
Lanka.
Kato, a 24-year old from the Atyap
tribe in Kaduna State, personally built
the robot and developed the
algorithm that enabled it solved the
famous Rubik cube puzzle in a
manner of minutes. But it was not an
easy journey to success because he
had to deal with an unimpressed
supervisor and a lot of failures in the
course of the project.
An early love for computing
I’m a self-directed learner willing to
experiment with new things; with a
high level of contextual and
technological insight. I was a
science student who loved
computing and technology, I
represented my school in computer
competitions but I was never
successful in any, and that
discouraged me.
I knew I was really doing well in
Chemistry, Physics and Biology, so I
thought I will do well if I went after a
medical career. In my final year in
secondary school I became the
health prefect and that confirmed to
me that I was going to be a doctor.
I have received awards in sports
including Athletics, Basketball, and
Chess and I also won the best singer
for a music competition here in Sri
Lanka in 2014.
Rejected by Nigerian universities
After completing my secondary
school in 2009, I wrote JAMB exams
twice applying for Medicine Course in
Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria,
but I never got admitted. I also tried
the university’s remedial school and
still wasn’t admitted. I then decided
to change my choice of university
and applied to the Kaduna State
University (KASU) where I was
granted the admission to study
medicine. Unfortunately, on the day
of my course registration I wasn’t
allowed to register because I had not
passed English in WAEC. So I moved
on to the KASU remedial school.
It was during my remedial that I
decided to try NIIT (National Institute
of Information Technology)
scholarship exams in which I
emerged the second highest. The
scholarship and that granted me a
chance to return to computing. I then
decided to leave the remedial school
to register with NIIT to study software
Engineering. After completing a year
in NIIT my cousin decided to get me

an admission in Sri Lanka Institute of
Technology (SLIIT).
Going overseas and starting over
I left NIIT and travelled down to Sri
Lanka. When I got to Sri Lanka in
2012, I started University all over
again. I completed my first semester
in SLIIT but I wasn’t happy in the
school because they focused more
on IT (Information Tech) while I
wanted software Engineering. I then
decided to leave SLIIT to Informatics
Institute of Technology (IIT) which
was affiliated to University of
Westminster UK.
So I then started university over
again, I stayed in IIT for 2 years and I
completed my diploma and advance
diploma. My third year at IIT required
that I take an internship for a year
before I complete the fourth year. But
I couldn’t take an internship because
of my visa status which clearly
stated that I’m not allowed to work,
paid or unpaid job.
I then left IIT in 2014 to ICBT to
complete my degree in software
Engineering (2015 September 20th).
Accidental Project?
To be honest I didn’t plan to make
the project this great. I didn’t know it
will happen. I guess it’s safe to say
that I randomly chose the idea for my
final year project, it has nothing to do
with my passion and future plans.
Though I took a module called
Artificial Intelligent System while
studying in the university and that
module was just so interesting, I
learnt some few AI languages and I
was able to do a mini project called
WINE QUALITY TEST software which
uses and Artificial Intelligence to
determine the quality of a wine drink.
This software used some data set for
its prediction. I enjoyed the whole
development process.
Coming to my final year project we
was all asked to do a software that
uses AI (artificial intelligence) for
predictions and solutions; that got
me worried because I barely came up
with an idea. So I decide to spend
time making research and I came up
with something. I proposed to do a
robot that solves puzzles, I wasn’t
sure what puzzles as I had a lot in
mind but I final choose the Rubik
cube puzzle.
I then decide to make further
research on what tools to use and I
found out that there are many tools
out there that I can use for a robotic
design.
Building the Robot in the midst of
disappointment
I then started developing the
algorithm to solve the Rubik cube.
My supervisor was never impressed
with the progress all he cared about
was to see a robot working. I spent
most of the time researching and he
thought I wasn’t going to make it
happen.
I was able to create the algorithms
that solves the puzzle. I created 16
different algorithms which served as
set of skills for the robot. With these
sets of skills, I used an artificial
intelligence language called ‘R’ to
develop a pattern for the robot to
choose the best skills to solve the
puzzle. So basically R was the AI
part of my robot. It’s very easy to
use. I also had a database where the
new skills are saved. So the more
the robot solves the cube the more
intelligent it becomes.
I spent two nights building the robot
and after completing the
construction, I installed the software
which serves as the brain into a
memory card for testing.
My first 5 tests were a failure. The
robot always shot a scanning error,
and this was a week to my final
submission. All I could do was pray.
I didn’t know what to do again. I was
confused and restless. I kept
grinding and it finally started
working. At that stage, the robot
wasn’t intelligent enough and I had to
train it to solve many puzzles to get
more skills to save in the database.
It was very hard for me because I
can’t even solve the Rubik cube
myself. The robot is smarter than me
in that aspect.


My focus now is on Forensic
computing, Cyber Security and Digital
Investigation. This is the path I will
love to follow for my career and
education. I’m happy to return back
to Nigeria as a Cyber Security and
Digital forensic Tech. If anything,
that’s what Nigeria needs more. We
need people who are savvy and
sincere in Digital Investigation, Cyber
Security and Forensic computing.
The world today is bent on
technology, the corruption in the
world today is bent on it too.
I don’t get how a country will say
they can’t locate the terrorist living in
the country, and I don’t get how a
country will say they don’t know the
sponsors on this terrorist group.
They make calls, they send emails,
they use the internet for many
reasons, they upload videos etc. Just
one amongst this list is enough to
get whoever is responsible. We only
need savvy and honest people to do
this.
Many Nigerians have useful skills,
but money determines how, where
and what we use it for. My heart is to
return home. To be honest I don’t
have a dream of staying in a foreign
country. I must tell you something I
hate the fact that my current status in
my life is being a foreigner. I hate
the feeling that I’m not in my own
country.
So I’m on a fast track back to
Nigeria. Many tell me that there isn’t
opportunity in Nigeria. That’s very
true but I will deal with it
source:  African leadership