Getting to know Uche Onwugbufor

Uche Onwugbufor, Agent, Allstate Insurance

People often tell Onwugbufor he looks familiar.

“They’ll say, ‘Are you a cop?’ ” he said, laughing. “Then they start searching for how to properly place me.”

Onwugbufor spent 22 years working in and managing QuikTrip stores in Wichita. He can’t think of one he didn’t pull at least one shift in.

He’s also a frequent musical performer in Wichita’s restaurants and bars. Known to fans simply as “Uche,” Onwugbufor possesses a powerful voice and outgoing personality that make an impression.

That’s kind of how he ended up in the insurance business.

“I had a good friend in the insurance business, and she told me that she believed I would be good at it because I like people, and because it’s about trying to do good for people,” he said.

He said the friend – longtime Allstate agent Tracy Rutledge – “told me she’d help me, and she has.”

Onwugbufor was born in London, moved to the United States in grade school and went to Wichita South for his senior year of high school.

After studying at Wichita State University, he went to work for QuikTrip and found a niche with the Tulsa-based convenience store chain.

“It really taught me how to interact with many different people,” he said. “Different backgrounds, socio-economics, everything. I think QuikTrip is a great equalizer.”

To become an insurance agent, Onwugbufor spent about six weeks training in Denver and Chicago before getting licensed by the state. He bought out an existing office in Andover, which is close to where he lives in east Wichita.

“As I begin to understand it more, I enjoy it more,” he said. “This first year has been ‘Whoa, Nellie.’ ”

He still finds the time to pursue music, often penning original songs and accompanying himself on guitar.

“Between the solo gigs and the band gigs, it keeps me off the streets.”

Joe Stumpe

This story was originally published March 24, 2016 at 7:52 AM with the headline "Getting to know Uche Onwugbufor."