Hello, fellow BTLite (Brainydaps Technology Limited ite)! Yes, that is what we call our interns and anyone who will intern with us in the future.

This article will serve as an orientation for all intending interns of BTL. It may not be possible for me to speak with every single one of you individually, but I will ensure we hold webinars where you will have the opportunity to see me, interact with me, and get to know me better.

Before I begin, here is a parable worth reflecting on:

“The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

As counterintuitive as it sounds, what this means is that good intentions alone are not enough. If you do not follow through with wise and responsible actions, the result can still be bad. Keep that thought in mind as you read on.

A Little About Me
Back in early 2024, after finally leaving the medical career path, something snapped in me. A fire was ignited. I knew that having chosen to abandon the “guaranteed medical path,” I could not afford to fail. In fact, I stopped caring about failing altogether, because this has always been my chosen path. I made up my mind that even if I ended up poor, I would be happy knowing the outcome of going after what I truly wanted. The greatest regret would have come from never knowing what would have happened had I pursued my dream. Now I know what happens when I pursue my dreams, and I am loving the result.

For over two years, most of what I did was volunteering work, with occasional paying gigs here and there to sustain myself.
But you know what they say: “You gain more from giving than from receiving.” It does not make sense when you first think about it, until you actually start doing it. And remember to apply wisdom while doing good. Remember that first proverb above? Throughout all of my volunteering, despite having spent real money gaining my certificates, knowledge, and skills, I made sure I documented evidence of every volunteering activity I undertook. That is the wisdom aspect of the proverb.

Then came a time when my volunteering gained enough visibility to earn me the Microsoft MVP Award, which is given to community leaders who volunteer their time and skills freely for the benefit of the community. Had I refused to volunteer simply because I was not being paid, I would not be a Microsoft MVP Awardee today, reaping those long-term benefits. Without all my data science contributions on Kaggle, I would not be ranked in the top 0.5% worldwide across two categories among data scientists globally (over 80,000 of them back in 2024). If I had waited to be paid before making those contributions, they would never have happened. If I had not been freely sharing tips and advice in the LinkedIn Community space, I would not have received the recognition badges from LinkedIn in the data science and data mining categories.

The whole point of all of this is simple: you gain more from giving than from receiving.
This is not to say you should not seek paid positions or that you do not deserve fair compensation. Understand, however, that a salary is simply a direct exchange of your time and skills for money, much like a trade by barter. Once you are paid, that is the end of the benefit you can receive from that transaction. Your benefit does not extend beyond the time it takes you to have the money unspent.
But when you volunteer with wisdom, ensuring proper documentation of your activities, the benefits you receive last far longer. No one simply paid you off and moved on. For instance, the volunteering I did through 2024 eventually resulted in my Microsoft MVP Award in 2025. It has been over a year, and I am still reaping the rewards of that decision.

Why This Internship Exists
I am very much aware of the current state of the job market and how increasingly difficult it has become to secure paid employment compared to even ten years ago. Add to that the ongoing economic challenges in Nigeria, and it becomes clear why so many young people feel desperate and without direction.
It has gotten to the point where even someone with a PhD can still struggle to find work because they are considered “overqualified.” I want you to view this voluntary, unpaid remote internship as a head-start. As a source of hope. As a structured opportunity to gain real work experience, to receive mentorship, and to learn directly from me and from other experienced mentors I will occasionally invite.

Now, returning to how even this good intention of mine can become a road that leads to a bad outcome if not handled with wisdom. There is a curious phenomenon observed in humans: the more genuinely good a person appears to be, the more others grow suspicious, because it seems too good to be true. Take Bill Gates as an example. Despite all of his humanitarian work, he receives death threats. Countless conspiracy theories paint him as a villain precisely because of his acts of kindness. People accuse him of hidden motives simply because he was giving.

I am aware that many people are deeply cynical and find it difficult to believe that anyone could simply be helping them out of genuine goodness. I am also aware that some people may attempt to abuse this opportunity or transform it into something it was never intended to be, whether through insubordination or by agreeing to participate and then refusing to follow through.
Nonetheless, this post exists to make the purpose of the internship clear. This internship is designed for you to gain real, documented work experience in a remote environment, alongside incentives intended to encourage your active participation at the same weekly time commitment you agreed to from the beginning.

What you stand to gain from this internship

• A sense of personal purpose, fulfilment and dignity : this would be from you taking on tasks, recommending high impact tasks , and subsequently being acknowledged and rewarded for these completed tasks.
• Conviction that your contributions matter, coupled with visible personal progress : this would be from having all your activities documented, scored and celebrated. 
• Mentorship and guidance from experts in your field : this would be from webinars organised by volunteer mentors to go through your completed tasks and provide guidance through appropriate means.
• Documentation and publicity for your activities and contributions within the company : this would be in the form of getting featured on our social media platforms and blog, and ultimately awarded a certificate of completion for the internship program. 

This Internship Is Not for You If…
You believe you are not supposed to do any real work because this is “just an unpaid internship.” If you intend to pass time here without contributing anything meaningful and yet feel entitled to the benefits reserved for active interns, this is not the right fit for you. If you expect everything to already be in place and have no interest in being the one to help set things up or to serve as a pioneer of this company as an intern, then this internship is clearly not for you. If you intend to be rebellious or to cause conflict just to prove a point, this is not the place for you. We are all here to learn from one another. I am not here to be a tyrant or to lord over anyone, but I will not hesitate to act once it becomes clear that someone is determined to be problematic. I will still wish you well in your job search and wish you the best, regardless of your attitude.

This Internship Is for You If…
You do not mind being the one to set things in place rather than waiting for things to be ready. If you found yourself nodding along as you read the above and already feel a sense of belonging within the company, this internship is for you. If you believe in volunteering and in giving more than you immediately receive, this internship is for you. If you want to be part of the beginning of something truly great and have no intention of being left behind in the AI race, this internship is for you.

If you have read all the way to this final paragraph without feeling tempted to skim, and have genuinely enjoyed taking it in, please respond with the word “elephant” to the message that directed you to this post. This is your way of confirming that you read every word with care and intention. It tells me that you took the time to truly understand what you are getting into, and that you already care about what you are about to do.
I am wishing you the very best, beloved BTLite, as you join us. 😁​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​