Afolabi Oyebiyi on learning how to code what he cannot see

In every conversation, there comes a point when it becomes something closer to a life guide—how things work, where they fail, and what it takes to keep going anyway.

With Afolabi Oyebiyi, a software engineer at Nigerian software consulting firm Cyclone, that point arrives when he talks about the accumulation of small, technical details like the screen readers that make computers speak, the textbooks that don’t, the coding tools that assume everyone has sight. He talks about them because his condition has made him work within these confines. 

Before he became a software engineer, he was already learning how systems behave when they are not designed for you. Then, in 2005, when his sight began to deteriorate, his relationship with the digital world changed in ways he could not reverse, and he had to adapt.

He followed a slow rebuilding, including spending time in rehabilitation centres where he first encountered screen readers, braille, and online platforms that promised self-paced learning but assumed visual interaction. He also enrolled at the Lagos branch of the National Institute of Information Technology (NIIT), an Indian-based global private skills and talent development firm, where he was the first visually impaired student, learning alongside a system that was itself learning how to include him.

Even now, as a backend engineer working in industry, the struggle continues—between capability and accessibility, between what tools are designed to do and what he needs them to do. But that is only part of the picture. The other part is the work itself: writing code, solving problems, and occasionally pushing back when accessibility is treated as optional.

TechCabal spoke to Ibrahim about his struggles, his work, and the long, uneven path of learning to code and build a career in a system that was never designed with him in mind.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

Why did you decide to become a programmer, or how did you become interested in programming as a blind person?

I’ve always been interested in computers and how they work. I also have an older brother who is a software engineer. Though he is into AI now, at the time when I wanted to become a software engineer, he was one. So computers were all around me.

The longer answer concerns my desire to bring about change for people with disabilities. When I was planning to get into tech, I thought I could effect change as a software engineer, given my accessibility concerns, and hopefully build technology that alleviates them.

I wanted to build assistive technology because I had already been introduced to screen readers. I wanted to be able to build screen readers and accessible websites and apps, and you need coding skills specifically for that. That’s what drew me to coding. Other forms of technology professions, like graphics, were visually intensive. But with coding, you can bypass the visual intensity of it all. All you need to do is hear what you’re typing and hear your console logs.

When did you lose your sight, and did you start coding before or after?

My visual impairment started in 2005, and it slowly deteriorated over the next few years after that. That’s basically the origin story of my supervillain arc.

I started coding actively around 2014–2015. I started by teaching myself through online platforms like Codecademy, Coursera, and W3Schools before deciding to attend a proper institute.

So I went to NIIT. I did a two-and-a-half-year software engineering diploma there. One of the reasons I went there was that my brother had also gone to NIIT years earlier. That was his introduction to the tech world. So when I needed a place to study, that was naturally the first thing that came to my mind.

How did they accommodate you at the National Institute of Information Technology (NIIT)?

I was the first and only visually impaired student at NIIT. In my first couple of weeks there, I was actively trying to quit. Every day I would go to school and say, “Today’s my last day.” It was that difficult.

And the funny thing was, at the time, we weren’t even doing coding yet. It was just basic Microsoft Word. The teachers had never taught blind people before. I had to listen in class and then go home and fight with my computer. It was extremely difficult.

But I got lucky as time went by. The teachers began to adapt to me. We would have mini private sessions during class. It was a mix of the teachers’ consideration and a whole lot of extra work on my part.

When I got to coding specifically, I had a teacher called Mr Andrew who was pretty much godsent. He went way beyond what was required of him under the contract. He helped me during school and after school. I remember being on the phone with this guy sometimes at 1 am or 2 am, and he never complained.

I pretty much owe my career to him. I would have quit NIIT without that guy.

What about the time between 2005 and 2015? Were you learning computers on your own?

I somehow managed to finish secondary school. When my sight was degenerating, I was in JSS3. I was already using computers before my eyes began to degenerate, so I had to relearn everything.

After secondary school, with all the despair and depression, in 2013, I went to a rehabilitation centre for the blind. That’s where I got introduced to screen readers, Braille, and typewriters. It also helped me meet other blind people.

Before that period, I was a recluse. I never went out. Meeting other blind people—some who had it way worse put things in perspective for me. Learning screen readers really changed a lot for me. It gave me hope.

How long did it take you to learn Braille and screen readers?

I actively resisted Braille, but I had to do it for the curriculum. For screen readers, I think it was easier because it’s a question of memorising keystrokes.

I was initially introduced to JAWS for laptops, and then to TalkBack on Android phones. Much later, one of our instructors introduced me to NVDA, which I still use today. So, for computers: NVDA; for phones, primarily TalkBack.

What were the challenges you faced when learning to code?

Learning was very challenging. At NIIT, we were given hardcopy textbooks, which were useless to me because I couldn’t see. I later had access to software called OpenBook, but it became frustrating having to scan pages from huge textbooks.

I had to depend heavily on the internet. But many websites are poorly coded and don’t adhere to accessibility guidelines. Even coding websites had accessibility issues.

A lot of tutorials online were videos, so they were kind of useless to me. Someone would say, “Do this,” but not explain what “this” is, because sighted people could see the screen.

The actual coding process itself was another hurdle. Many coding tools and IDEs were not accessible at the time. There were things I just could not do on my own. I would have to wait until the next day at school for someone to help me click a button.

I remember not being able to do Android development at NIIT because Android Studio wasn’t accessible to me. I just sat in class while my classmates were coding, and I couldn’t do anything.  It wasn’t a matter of if someone walks me through it, eventually I would get it. I just could not do them on my own. I’d have to be on the call with them, share my screen, and they’d have to guide me, “move your mouse to the left, move your mouse to the right,” all that stuff. I’ve since learned it because the tools have gotten better.

There were many days I woke up and said, “Today is the day, screw all of this, I’m done.”

Which tools really helped you along the way as you were learning and practising?

For the longest time, I used Notepad because many IDEs were inaccessible or too frustrating.

But Notepad is very basic. There’s no code prediction, no auto-imports, nothing. So I had to do everything manually. I’d ask classmates beside me things like: “I’m trying to import scanner, can you tell me the full import statement?”

I was basically coding in 2015 and 2016, as they had been coding in 1976, because the tools I was using were inaccessible.

With AI everywhere now, how useful is it to your work?

I use AI a lot. It’s a useful time-saving tool, but not just for blind people—everybody uses it.

With all the struggles of finding accessible learning materials, AI agents are now highly optimised for coding. I use DeepSeek mostly for learning concepts and asking specific questions. It’s like having a teacher you can ask questions directly.

I also use AI for coding tasks. There are things that would normally take me half a day because of accessibility obstacles, but AI simplifies them. So it’s been a very useful resource for learning and productivity.

What is your day-to-day like as a software engineer?

Currently, I write backend for Cyclone Technology Limited. Basically, clients approach us with what they need us to build, and we build it. So I write backend specifically because backend is not as punishing as frontend. You don’t need your eyes for most things. All those things you see when you go to an app or a website—the graphics and the design—that’s frontend, and obviously, I can’t do that to any effective degree. I can do it, but not to any effective degree. So, mostly backend, which powers the frontend. I sometimes contribute to the frontend, but only minimally. So that’s it, basically.

Did you get the job immediately after NIIT, or did you hunt for a while?

I started working with Cyclone in 2022. A friend recommended it to me, I applied, and when I went for the interview, I did well.

But leading up to that was very demoralising. I got a lot of rejection emails. There were interviews where recruiters told me, “You did really well. We want to hire you,” and then two weeks later, I would hear things like: “Sorry, we’re restructuring.”

I’m aware of what it means to apply for jobs as a blind software engineer. Some things would take me a whole day to do that would take a non-blind person ten minutes.

Programming evolves quickly, and while others are learning new things rapidly, I am sometimes still trying to source accessible materials for things they already learned weeks ago.

Since you started coding, have you worked on any projects related to accessibility or assistive tech?

I’ve not done anything that is currently public for accessibility. What I’ve been doing, however, is accessibility advocacy. So whatever projects I work on, I try to make sure accessibility is being adhered to. There are times you have to pick your battles. There are some freelance projects where you can’t tell them anything—what they will do, they will do. But when I know I can make inroads,I try to make accessibility a key consideration for the project.

Regarding building tools, I actually have some tools I use for myself alone to make coding easier. But I haven’t been able to dedicate enough time to building something for the public yet. So my cliché dream from a few years ago about getting into tech to build assistive technology is still in the pipeline.

Looking at your work environment, how do your colleagues and clients respond to how you work?

With my team in-house, it’s been a lot of acceptance. After years of rejection, having people acknowledge that I can actually write good code validated all the suffering it took to become a developer.

I get a lot of help from them.

I remember one colleague hearing my screen reader during a session and saying, “There’s something in your background that keeps talking.” When my team lead explained that I was visually impaired, he couldn’t understand how I was coding.

There’s always an initial shock period with new people, but thankfully, most engineers recover quickly, and we get along.

Of course, there are moments where discussions happen around whiteboards and diagrams, and I just sit there because I can’t benefit from the flowcharts anyway. But overall, my team has been very supportive.

How inclusive is the tech ecosystem in Nigeria and Africa?

It’s not inclusive at all.

The fact that people are shocked when they see a blind person using a phone or laptop already says a lot. There isn’t enough awareness around disability.

The Nigerian education system is broken from the grassroots to the top. There are no systems in place to alleviate the struggles disabled people face.

And it’s not only Nigeria or Africa. Persons with disabilities struggle globally. But it’s much worse here. Disabled people are still an afterthought.

What would you say the tech industry in Nigeria and Africa needs to do to become more inclusive?

First things first, they have to adhere to accessibility guidelines. Accessibility cannot be treated like an afterthought.

Developers, companies, schools, and governments need to think about accessibility from the beginning. Because when technology is inaccessible, it locks people out completely.

A lot of people don’t understand that accessibility is not charity. It’s infrastructure. It’s participation. It’s giving people the ability to function independently.

That’s the biggest thing: awareness, accessibility standards, and intentional inclusion.

What do you do to chill out when things get really tough?

The thing is, I don’t go out that much. My not going out is partly because of the insecurity in Nigeria and all of that. I know lots of blind people like you who brave it every day and go out. But the insecurity and the fact that people get kidnapped easily in Nigeria are a lot. I know a lot of you guys just brave it up.

But I play a lot of trivia. I’m actually building a trivia software to amuse myself. Maybe I’ll make it public soon. Apart from that, I read a lot.

What are you looking to achieve in the next few years?

I guess over the next few years, I will improve my skills so I can do my job better. I am looking to get more certifications and do more in accessibility. That is me looking towards contributing my quota and all. I am building stuff, but the point is, while building yours, why not contribute to what someone has started? I believe you can do both. The main thing is for me to earn more certifications and deepen my knowledge so I can achieve all my goals.

What is one thing you would change about the tech industry in Africa?

The one thing I would change is how they treat accessibility. Accessibility is not just for me and you, who are young and working. There are old people who depend on these products to perform tasks like banking and sending messages. There are a lot of children with disabilities out there who depend on a lot of tech products for their education and so many other things. People should no longer depend on others to perform basic tasks like calling their children or sending messages. 

Tech accessibility should be the first thing on the minds of Nigerian developers and startups. Depending on others to carry out your daily activities isn’t really nice. These companies should first consider accessibility when building their products.

And lastly, disability should not be the reason why we don’t get employed. Blind persons can obviously not work at the same rate as a sighted person. But when employing, look at what the person can offer, and do not reject them based on disability.