Go Systems design at scale: Rethinking software engineering in the AI era

On a humid Saturday afternoon in Yaba, the tech ecosystem in Lagos once again demonstrated its position as a primary hub for engineering excellence in Africa. Yet, a familiar question hovered in the room: Is AI coming for our jobs?

The Senior Golang Developers Meetup, held on 21 February 2026, did not pretend that the question was naïve. It confronted it head-on. The theme, “Go Systems Design at Scale: Engineering in the AI Era”, signalled something deeper than another community gathering. This was not about syntax but about survival, architecture and relevance.

Yaba has long been described as Nigeria’s Silicon Valley. But what is emerging now feels more deliberate, less hype, and more maturity. The room was filled not with aspiring developers chasing tutorials, but with senior engineers interrogating the future of their craft.

And the mood? Focused, urgent and clear-eyed.

Event convener Ige Oluwasegun Oluwajubelo made it clear early on that this was not just a Go meetup. Yes, the language anchored the discussion, but the mission was broader. From data analysts to designers, everyone in the room was grappling with the same tension: how do you separate AI myth from AI reality?

The framing was deliberate; AI is not a distant disruption. It is already embedded in daily workflows. Tools are shipping at a speed that punishes complacency. What worked six months ago may already feel outdated. Upskilling, Oluwajubelo argued, is no longer optional but a defensive strategy. The meetup is set to become an annual fixture, not as a ritual, but as insurance, ensuring Lagos’ engineering ecosystem remains proactive in the global shift, rather than reactive to it.

Building systems that survive scale

The technical sessions cut through abstraction. Akinlua Bolamigbe, Senior Software Engineer at Careem (part of Uber), brought practical weight to the room. With experience spanning FairMoney, Acronis and Jumia, his focus was not on AI hype but infrastructure reality.

Distributed systems remain the backbone of modern platforms. That has not changed. What has changed is the pressure on those systems.

AI-enabled features demand reliable pipelines, low-latency responses and resilient architecture. Go, alongside TypeScript and Rust, continues to power backend services because of its performance profile and concurrency strengths. Bolamigbe’s work on Invok, a self-hosted serverless framework, reinforced a key point: scalability is not accidental; it is designed.

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Tejiri Odiase, a specialist in Golang infrastructure, further grounded the conversation in the practicalities of AI integration. With a focus on designing production-grade platforms, Odiase discussed the necessity of building reliable data and retrieval pipelines to support AI-enabled applications. His session underscored that while AI provides the “intelligence”, it is the robust, efficient systems built with Go that ensure these applications perform under real-world constraints.

“AI will take your job” — or will it?

The afternoon panel carried a deliberately provocative title: “AI Will Take Your Job.” Moderated by Tobi Adara, who works across payment infrastructure and scalable systems, the discussion refused easy comfort.

Abiodun Oyekunle, CTO of Autobuyafrica.ai, sparked a vital conversation by suggesting that junior roles are currently the most at risk. He argued that because AI can now handle basic implementations, entry-level engineers must rapidly transition into mid-level thinkers. Oyekunle, who leverages AI for vehicle diagnostics, stressed that tech is ultimately about architecture and logic, not just writing syntax.

The panellists shared how AI is already transforming their daily operations:

Samuel Alapakristi, a product-focused leader, noted that his teams now use AI to generate unit tests and manage technical debt, allowing them to focus on high-impact business logic.

Efemena Elvis, a senior software engineer and team leader, observed that AI significantly reduces delivery timelines and employment costs, as a small team can now leverage “agents” to perform the work of a much larger group.

Aminat Shotade, founder of IDEA8LAB and an emerging AI specialist, warned against the “depreciation of brain capacity”. She urged engineers to continue writing logic themselves to maintain efficiency and deep understanding.

Temilade Olarenwaju of American Tower brought a crucial data-centric perspective. She argued that while AI can analyse data, it lacks the “human-centred relationship” and design thinking required to interpret insights for business outcomes. She encouraged engineers to remain inquisitive, constantly asking ‘why’ to ensure their technical solutions align with user needs.

The consensus among the speakers, including contributions from Princewill, a Lagos-based software engineer and Golang advocate, was clear: AI is not a replacement for engineers, but an executive assistant.

The event concluded with a call to return to basics. As Samuel Alapakristi noted, engineers must be able to “question the AI.” Understanding why a specific logic is chosen over another remains the defining characteristic of a senior developer. In the AI era, the most valuable skills are no longer just coding but critical thinking, architecture, and the ability to bridge the gap between business requirements and scalable technology. 

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