Where Did the Community Go Wrong?

In the earliest days of my career as a student while at the University of Port Harcourt. Back in my 100 level, I was fortunate to be among the early members of Uniport Code Club—a student-driven tech community focused on coding, collaboration, and problem-solving.

It started as a simple gathering—students meeting in the Computer Science Lab every month or two, sharing ideas, tackling problems together, and inviting industry leaders to guide us. Over time, we saw the rise of Google Student Club and later DSC. Eventually, DSC merged with Uniport Code Club, expanding our reach and setting the stage for the cracks that would appear later.

The?community's core principle?was clear: to?bring developers and tech enthusiasts together, collaborate, and build solutions that impact our immediate environment.?For the most part, this worked. The community provided?peer learning, mentorship, and problem-solving. Whenever I hit a roadblock, someone in the community either helped me directly or pointed me to a solution.

We Never Had Excuses—We Had Solutions

Back then, venue was never a problem. We used the Computer Science Lab at Uniport, and even though the lab attendant had to come in on Saturdays, we understood the inconvenience and chipped in small amounts to appreciate him for the effort.

We had times when the generator wasn’t working, and instead of canceling meetups, a member of the community drove home, brought his own gen, and we kept going. We made sacrifices to keep the community running because we believed in what we were building.

Despite having no corporate sponsors, we still attracted industry leaders like Precious Chukwudera (CEO of Chigisoft) and others. These people came not because we paid them but because they saw the genuine vision and drive within the community.

Then Everything Changed…

Over time, as the early founders moved on, leadership passed to a new set of people. But instead of building on the foundation, they saw community leadership as a career boost rather than a responsibility.

Suddenly, the same community that once found solutions to every challenge now had leaders making excuses:

? “We don’t have a venue.”

? “There’s no money for meetups.”

? “We can’t host events because we lack sponsorship.”

But back then, we had the same challenges, yet we figured things out. The difference? The leadership mindset had changed.

When Community Leadership Becomes Just a Title

The fall of the community wasn’t because of a lack of resources but because the core values were abandoned. The same group that once thrived on collaboration and sacrifice now became a WhatsApp group where people just drop job links and move on.

Year after year, new community leads emerged, but with no vision. No long-term plan. No real engagement. Just a title to add to their LinkedIn profile.

So, Where Did We Go Wrong?

? Did the founders fail to ensure strong succession planning?

? Is every community bound to die when its visionary leaders leave?

? Or did community leadership simply become a tool for personal branding rather than service?

At the heart of it, a community dies when its core foundation is abandoned. Leadership should never be about prestige—it should be about sustaining the vision and ensuring continuity.