As one of Nigeria’s leading indigenous technology companies, Remita Payment Services Limited (RPSL) reaffirmed its commitment to nurturing the next generation of innovators through its participation in the 2026 Technology and Engineering Students’ Association (TESA) Conference held on Wednesday, July 22, at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife. Representing the company, Executive Director, Technology, Mujib Ishola, led a fireside chat titled “Beyond the Degree: How Engineers Are Redefining Success Across Industries” and served as a judge during the conference’s innovation hackathon, sharing practical insights on leadership, innovation and the future of engineering.
Technology advances when ideas become solutions, but innovation ecosystems thrive when knowledge, experience and opportunity pass from one generation to the next. Addressing students, aspiring engineers and young innovators, Ishola challenged participants to look beyond academic qualifications and embrace engineering as a discipline centred on solving meaningful problems, creating value and continuously learning in an ever-changing world.
Speaking during the fireside chat titled “Beyond the Degree: How Engineers Are Redefining Success Across Industries,” Ishola challenged students to think of engineering less as a profession and more as a mindset built around solving problems that leave a lasting mark.
He spoke candidly about his own path in leadership, urging students to treat growth as ongoing rather than something they eventually arrive at. “Leadership is a continuous learning experience.
There isn’t a handbook that prepares you for every challenge because technology, business and the world are constantly changing. Every day presents a new opportunity to learn, adapt and grow.”
Drawing on Remita’s experience building some of Nigeria’s most widely used payment infrastructure, Ishola explained that innovation often calls for difficult decisions, especially when organisations must back ambitious ideas without knowing how they will turn out.
“Some of the most important decisions are the ones where the outcome isn’t guaranteed. Sometimes you have to commit resources, bring different stakeholders together and believe in what the solution can become. That’s how meaningful innovation happens,” He remarked.
Building technology at scale, he noted, takes more than technical skill. It takes collaboration across industries, institutions and regulators to produce solutions that can serve millions of people well.
Turning to Nigeria’s payment ecosystem, Ishola said competition should not be seen as a threat but as something that sharpens creativity and forces better problem-solving.
“Competition has always existed, and that’s a good thing because it pushes us to think differently. At the end of the day, people are not looking for payments; they are looking to solve everyday problems. Payments simply enable those solutions.”
Understanding the real problem behind a product, he said, is what gives innovators’ work lasting relevance.
Ishola also made the point that speed cannot come at the expense of trust, which he described as the ground every technology business stands on. As digital services weave further into daily life, he said, security and data protection have to be treated as core responsibilities rather than afterthoughts. “When decisions affect security and data, there is very little room for compromise. Trust is the foundation of every technology business, and protecting it must always come first, ” He noted.
Beyond the fireside conversation, Ishola also judged the conference’s innovation hackathon, where students worked through practical technology solutions to real-world problems. The experience, he said, was a reminder of why young innovators need room to experiment, collaborate and turn ideas into working products.
Closing the session, he told students to stay confident in what they already know, while staying open to what they still have to learn. “Be confident in what you know, and be humble enough to learn what you don’t. The knowledge you seek already exists in someone else’s experience. Never stop learning, because that is how great innovators are built.”
Remita’s presence at the OAU TESA Conference reflects a wider belief within the company: that growing Nigeria’s digital economy takes more than building good technology. It takes deliberate investment in the people who will design, build and lead the next generation of solutions. Through mentorship, knowledge exchange and practical innovation, Remita continues to back an environment where engineering talent can grow and technology can serve the country’s long-term development.