The Nigeria #Tag is golden on SteemIt; Community driven projects springing up, new users signing up daily and I have YOU to thank for it!

Looking back at the past decade makes me smile seeing how far we have come on the Internet of Things and especially here on SteemIt.
Many of us are familiar with the scam emails which are traced to Nigeria and Nigerians from all over the world, and those acts really threw spanners in the works for many genuine Nigerians seeking to get a piece of the free web pie.

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I am not saying it is over or that it doesn't happen again, I am simply saying a BIG THANK YOU to YOU who has made the Nigerian brand shine bright again. We have hope and we are making good use of that string of hope handed us.

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Making money on the internet before now was for some 'select few', and getting to be part of that group meant just two things:

1). You either are Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, Tom Anderson, Mark Zuckerberg, Chris DeWolfe, William "Bill" Redington Hewlett and David "Dave" Packard to mention just a few. OR
2). You either are a scammer or a Nigerian email scammer aka Prince and relatives of corrupt government officials.

Either way, the talk of the Nigerian email scammer or Prince most often comes up when the dark side of the web is being talked about. I am happy it has changed today that lots of us here on Steemit are happy to be here and we can raise our hands with pride to be counted as Nigerians. Something that was not so couple of years back.

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As I sit at the Steem Accelerator Hub watching the carpenter setting up the last of the desk and shelves, I am just boiling inside. Yes, boiling with JOY. ***Is there a word like boiling with joy? *** Yea well, I guess I just made that one up! hehehe.

When I started talking about doing this Hub, I was barraged with very strong words, I won't call them insults but they were pretty strong for me especially since I wasn't looking to do any evil but just some good in my own capacity. I was not sure then if I should stop or continue, but I was sure I wanted this. I wanted a place where young people irrespective of their religion, race and educational status can walk in and collaborate on ideas that will add just a little good to the world. The world is in very short supply of good so if everyone can chip in some, we will be good.

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The Nigerian Community and growth.

The Nigerian Community is growing at an amazing speed and I am thankful to all the people who have taken up the cross in a bid to lighten the burden for many others out there. These selfless individuals have gone out there before us and their work and continuous commitment to community building has given birth to a generation of hardworking and creative Nigerians.
I want to say a big Shout-Out to these people who have made the Nigeria tag a success and given us a reason to thrive here on steemit. We are taking over!

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• @donkeypong. If I would wish for a Nigerian to follow and emulate, it will be you Tom. You are an amazing person when it comes to giving voice to others. Let me take from @hanshotfirst's shoutout to you from when you did that Fundraising post for the Steem Accelerator Hub. - "Some day when steem is the major force it should be, people will look back and say, "Damn that donkeypong guy did so much to help steem in its infancy." To say you are amazing is correct English, in our local parlance, we say bros you too muccchhh. He is American and not even African.
  Thank you for being this amazing, not to the Nigerian community alone but to the Steem ecosystem.

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• @infovore. I like this Steemian who is one of the earliest Nigerians here and who never fails to help fellow Nigerians find their sense of place here. He has this thing for being able to drop some clear and mind building words that helps you see more than you ought to. He is an amazing Nigerian that has done so much for the community. Bros, I hail!

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• @gavvet. This is one Steemian who is very interested in empowering young Africans and from my brief encounter with him, I have to say we are lucky to have him taking particular interest in what we do here on Steemit and lending his support every time. He is South African and he is making the African continent better.

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• @dragonslayer109. Another amazing Steemian of South African decent and a ready to help fella who goes the extra mile to help Africans on Steemit. He is the admin of the AfricanUnited channel on Steemit Chat.

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• @surpassinggoogle. Another stand up Nigerian resident in the Philippines and doing very amazing stuff for the Nigerian and Philippines community. He is constantly creating value to the Steem ecosystem by bringing creativity to bear on newbies and existing steemians alike.

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• @aggroed. The mayor of Minnowtown as I call him is another wonderful guy whose work here speaks community building and empowerment. As a minnow, the first place I landed and actually felt comfortable to keep trying even while failing was the P.A.L network home to the minnowsupport project. I must say one of the first lessons on being a community builder was learnt there and my tutor was this man. Many Nigerians have been helped and raised from being minnows to bigger minnows and dolphins and more are still benefiting from this community.

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• @hanshotfirst. A huge supporter of emerging communities and an amazing Steemian who is always there to lend support to the Nigerian community. It was his shout-out to @donkeypong that inspired this article and I am really happy to have crossed paths with these people who make you think nothing else but develop yourself for the benefit of your community.

How has their work impacted the Nigerian tag?

Everyone on Steemit can clearly see how the time put into community building by these Steemians have impacted the Nigerian Community. We have various project being run by Nigerians that are aimed to give a voice to the voiceless and also help put an end to unemployment all thanks to them.
What projects?
Steem Accelrator Hub (STACH), Steemit In Nigeria (SIN), The Genesis Project, Redfishpillar, Project Steem Care, Steem-Lagos, Project20millionNaija and a host of many other wonderful ongoing project being used by young Nigerians to get more people on Steemit and provide an opportunity for self discovery and development.

What next?

With Steemit there is Hope for anybody looking to embrace the new reality This is just the beginning and it is going to keep getting better as the day dawns.
I am imploring every Nigerian here on Steemit to celebrate the Nigerian Tag and make it one of the most visited communities on steemit.com. We have various projects designed to make our community awesome and it is created for you.

In the coming weeks, there will be numerous additions to the Steem ecosystem that will enable growth and development and the time to get with the program is now!

A coded shout-out to @fisteganos, @ehiboss, @bania, @maryfavour, @outhori5ed, @gloglo, @destinysaid, @illuminatus, @oluwoleolaide @ogoowinner, @gbenga @ogochukwu and every one working behind the scenes to give this awesome a brand a Shine, I see you!

Success is sweet, but it is sweeter when you make it about others!

Make the world a better place for someone today!