A REVIEW OF NNAMSO UMOREN'S "FROM CANOE BOY TO PERMANENT SECRETARY: LIVING A SCRIPT WRITTEN BY A PENCIL IN THE HAND OF GOD."

Title of Book: From Canoe Boy to Permanent Secretary: Living a Script Written by a Pencil in the Hand of God

Genre: Autobiography

Author: Nnamso Umoren

Publisher: Masterminds Global Ventures, Uyo

Number of Pages: 246

Reviewer: Pastor Anietie John Ukpe

In 1988, Rev Jesse Jackson caused some members of the Democratic Party to weep as he delivered a fiery, inspirational convention address which traced his rocky journey from grass to grace. The highpoint of Jackson's speech was, “I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I had a shovel programmed for my hand.” Like Rev Jesse Jackson, Elder Nnamso Umoren was not born “with a silver spoon in his mouth, he was born with a canoe paddle programmed in his hands.”

But unlike Rev Jesse Jackson, Elder Umoren narrates his touching grass-to-grace story in this book without any iota of bitterness or anger. He tells it like a grandpa telling his life story, in an honest, calm and detached manner, to wide-eyed grandchildren so enthralled in the story that they fail to notice the tears dropping on their cheeks.

The introductory sentences of the first chapter give you the wholesale impression of this book: compelling, ‘un-put-downable’ (as His Excellency Mr Moses Ekpo, the Deputy Governor of our state, rightly said in the foreword of the book), gripping, inspirational, masterful, awe-inspiring, brilliant, charismatic, graceful, captivating, heart-rending and, above all, simple.

I have read a lot of autobiographies. I am an aficionado when it comes to understanding the secret behind successful persons. But the book “From Canoe Boy to Permanent Secretary” by Nnamso Umoren, is something more special than a mere autobiography. It is stranger than fiction. It is a first-hand account of the life of a man that I have dedicatedly admired since I first met him in 1982 at Polytechnic, Calabar, and later worked under him at Concord Press. The book provides an insight into how grace, determination, resilience and experiences shaped an abused child into the dignified gentleman we knew and celebrated.

The late Elder Umoren, a quintessential journalist, was a compelling storyteller and an inspirational writer. His account of his life does credit to this pedigree. The book is very comprehensive: it starts from his early childhood in Edebom II; weaves its way to how he became a Canoe boy in the creeks of Western Cameroon; takes a twist to his journey to Enugu to start a trade; ropes in his experiences during the Civil War, where he almost got killed in Eket as a curious kid; shifts gear into working as a copy typist for a construction company and media houses in Calabar; and pans to an incidence where he turned down a job that paid 15 pounds per month in order to pick up a 5 pound per month job as a reporter-in-training in order to pursue his passion in Calabar. But that is not all, he throws in parts about his training at the Nigerian Institute of Journalism Lagos; his contact with, and working for, the late Bashorun MKO Abiola; working for the Nigerian Chronicle and Concord Press of Nigeria Ltd; once contemplating suicide; being an editor at the Pioneer; surviving a plane crash and a robbery attack; and serving as Permanent Secretary in several ministries and as Chief Press Secretary and speech writer to many governors in Akwa Ibom State. All these, he recounts while retaining his first-person voice in the narrative. That is why reading this book gives you the eerie feeling that Elder Nnamso Umoren is in a passionate, honest, tell-all, down-to-earth conversation with his readers.

One cannot also ignore Mr. Umoren’s famed sense of humour that accentuates his entire narrative. A case in point is seen in pages 53 and 54. He describes an incident that took place while he was studying at the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, and says it made him “weep so fervently, as Patience Jonathan wept for the Chibok girls.”

The Book “From Canoe Boy to Permanent Secretary” is a product of a large degree of gratitude and soul-searching from a man who humbly admit that his successes were not by his power or by his might but by God's benevolent grace. Throughout the book, no word is mentioned more often than the word “God”. This demonstrates Mr. Umoren’s confidence, loyalty, faith and trust in God (See, among others, pages 3, 6, 7, 14, 17, 24, 29, 67, 81, 91, 100, 115, 120, 122, etc).

Apart from being an autobiography, this book also offers a bird’s eye view of the journalism landscape in Nigeria in the '70s, '80s, and '90s. And in the latter part of the book, the author did a blanket review of the development and growth of Akwa Ibom State, since its creation, under various leaderships – assessing the various philosophies and milestones under those leaders. More so, as a lover of the Ibibio Nation and Akwa Ibom State at large, this book would not end without a treatise on the Ibibio Nation, and how the Nation can move forward. The author did justice to that between pages 158 and 185 of the book.

Another great aspect of this book is the opportunity that the writer gave to his proteges and mentees, beginning from page 227 of the book, to provide an interesting, glowing, and inspiring outsider-looking-in perspective of the man, Elder Nnamso Umoren. They do not disappoint, but one such person, Akpandem James, pioneer Editor of Daily Independent, struck a chord which summed up the theme of the book and the book itself: "Those who go through nature’s virtual class, graduate with exceptional pedigree. They defy every odd to hit the glass ceiling. Elder Nnamso Umoren belongs to that class.” Another big take-away from this book is contained in the preface. It says “the difference between those who surmount the odds and achieve, and those who succumb to the daunting challenges and fail is in how they either orient or react to their experiences in life.” This statement puts a fitting cap on the life and times of the author, Nnamso Umoren.

Finally, as a reviewer, there is an academic onus for one to identify an area in this book where there is an imperfection, or where a thought is misplaced in the book, to enable the author or the publisher review them in subsequent editions. But I make bold to say that there is nothing to be taken away nor added to this book: it is simply a masterpiece. The only regret is that Nnamso Umoren is not physically for its presentation. Like we said earlier, this book reads like a grandfather's recollection. It does appear that the grandfather ended the tale, and disappeared into the night before his audience could give him a deserved standing ovation.

In all, this great book under review leaves a great message to this and future generations of Akwa Ibom people that what you were born to see is not what you were born to be, and what you were born to hear is not what you were born to say. It leaves the message that your altitude is determined by your attitude - not the circumstances of your birth. It leaves a message that the Lord Almighty is still in the business of anointing and crowning kings from poor shepherd and canoe boys forgotten in the bush and in creeks. Let us, therefore, savour this message, as we continue to celebrate this man who was a “Pencil in the Hand of God”. I whole-heartedly recommend this book as a useful tool for every pilgrim who is, or has ever been, interested in being a pencil in God's hands.