I need to start a new career

[hexagonite]

Hello, i am Dammie, i am a 21 year old Nigerian in my fouth year in the University here in Nigeria, i am studying Materials Engineering but i have come to realize that i have an exceptionally burning desire for the field of IT and i am willing to even drop out of school to pursue that career... I intend taking up a scholarship test for entrance into NIIT to enroll in their programs, but that is coming up later in the year, all i want now is to ask all u like minded people on here if there is anything i could do now to get started online, i believe no step is too little to take in achieving my goal.
I want to be in the software aspect of IT and take it all up to the top, i am practically a starter so i will take it from the very start.
Please let me know where to start from and also where do i need to go online to start learning... I hope to be among the best software professionals the world has ever seen, cos already in my imagination, i have started and i cant wait to be in the field proper.
Thanks.