Graduate of Mechanical Engineering from the University of Lagos, Saheed Azeez, discusses with BIODUN BUSARI how he made a first class and was inspired to develop YarnGPT, a text-to-speech artificial intelligence platform that speaks Yoruba, Igbo, and Hausa, among other issues
What were the highlights of your childhood?
I grew up in Iju-Ishaga, Lagos State. I’m from a family of three children. I was good academically without having to do much as a child. I can’t remember reading my books when I was in nursery and primary school, but I performed very well. I was always among the top three. I could come first, second, or third. I could say I was the smartest in my class.
However, I didn’t come from a rich family. My parents were neither rich nor poor. I think we were closer to being poor than rich, but we didn’t lack the basic things of life. My dad prioritised our education. He would make sure he bought our books and paid our school fees, even if he couldn’t afford to do other things.
Did you maintain your brilliance in secondary school?
