By Ng’ang’a Mbugua
The motif of the poor boy who becomes a wealthy man is
emerging as one of the most dominant narrative strands in self-publishing in
Kenya.
One of the latest entrants in this multi-million shilling
market that is changing the face of publishing as we have always known it is
Churchill Winstones Ochieng with his business biography, From Hawker to Banker.
Churchill started life as a shoe shiner-cum fruit hawker at
Nairobi’s Burma market. With time, he found himself playing for Premier League
side, Gor Mahia FC, though this did not give him a direct ticket to a
materially satisfying life. Through sheer grit, persistence and an uncanny
combination of creativity and audacity, he landed a job as a cleaner with
Barclays Bank. The job did not come on a silver platter for the hustler. After
getting nothing but a pile of regrets from writing informal job application
letters, Churchill - with the help of his sister - penned a personal letter to
Gareth George, then CEO of Barclays, explaining his situation and extolling his
own virtues as a worker. Pummeled to submission, Gareth hired him. Soon enough,
Churchill was promoted to supervisor on account of his industry and later to a
messenger and clerk. By the time he was leaving the bank after close to a
decade of service, he was one of its senior managers.
When he landed an opportunity to work in an even bigger
capacity at CFC Bank, he resigned from Barclays to take up his new posting,
which, as he explains in his 132-page book, lasted only two years. The
adventure bug bit him again and he quit to Join Faulu Kenya where he is now
head of retail banking.
His story, published in 2012, is certainly one of the more compelling
in the genre. Churchill has the narrator’s gift and since he is more than
familiar with the subject, he keeps the reader – even the skeptical reader –
engrossed. That is, until he gets to the ninth and last chapter which takes the
oomph out of the otherwise enchanting coming-of-age story of
self-actualisation. Unlike the athlete who saves the best kick for the last
lap, Churchill fails in his attempt to congeal the wisdom he has gathered over
the years in pithy generalisations.
Of course, one understands that his is an attempt to impart advice
that could encourage his readers to lift themselves by their bootstraps and
make something of their lives. But his life story does that effortlessly. One
sees how his effort is rewarded; how his willingness to take risks pays off;
and how his experience as a school prefect prepares him for leadership in the
workplace. However, he simply cannot resist the temptation to become a
motivational writer. After all, he is a motivational speaker. For all it is
worth, that chapter on “Secrets of Success” lacks the urgency, fluidity,
vivacity and lucidity that characterise the rest of the book and that also make
up Churchill’s DNA. In all honesty, though, he can be forgiven for spotting the
hunger for motivation that is the curse of our time and going out to satiate
it.
If, by any chance, you are tempted to judge the book by its
cover, perish the thought. Plough right in and start with the forward which is written
by Churchill’s most famous customer, Raila Amollo Odinga.
