Odhiambo Tusker: A School Dropout Who Never Forgot His Teachers
When Bernard Odhiambo Okome finally decided to throw in the towel, accepting that an end to his education had come, he was just a form one student at Makasembo Secondary School in Siaya County, Rarieda. Poverty had finally spoken in the most usual manner it does. There was nothing (and no one) to pay his school fees just one year after joining a secondary school. There was no going forward. And Odhiambo, an average student who, until that time was in good academics and discipline record with his teachers, walked back home knowing he was starting what would be a future with no immediate future ahead. Odhiambo was to find a way where there was not. The year was 2003, December.
Today, everyone who talks (Luo) Benga Music knows him . A few people may not know him as Bernard Odhiambo Okome but no one can deny knowing the name Odhiambo Tusker. Two decades later as a recording Benga artist, the name Odhiambo Tusker is associated with incomparably educative and entertaining compositions that has kept people of all ages on their feet both literally and figuratively. Some have given him names of their own. They call him Ja Malela (Son of Malela), Wuod Okome (Son of Okome), Ja Kagwa or (Son of Kagwa) but all these names have unity in one title; The Reigning King of Luo Benga.
He has many hit songs in his names, songs that have stayed on the lips of his fans for years. This is unusual today because most songs do not last a week. One such song is Jopuonj e Jomabeyo loosely translated as Teachers are the Greatest of All. In this song that would introduce him not only to the Luo Nation but to the world, Odhiambo Tusker celebrates (his)teachers. I had a phone interview with him on 26th, May 2022 to try and extract his education story and the inspiration.
I Quit School in Favor of my Step Brother
Just a year after joining Makesembo Secondary School, Odhiambo Tusker had an honest assessment of his family's situation and decided that the only alternative was to quit. Born on 20th June 1986, in Malela, a village in Rarieda Constituency, Siaya County, Odhiambo was hardly an adult when he had to make the biggest decision in his life. His father, Mr. Okome, had two families with Odhiambo's mother being the younger wife. The first born in a family of six, Odhiambo grew up with a firsthand experience of poverty and the complication that it can generate in a polygamous family. His father was not formally employed and so were his mothers.
The economics of the family revolved around fishing and subsistence farming that were characteristic of Malela village at the time. But a long history of bad politics had rendered fishing, what should be the main economic activity in Luo Nyanza, an unstable occupation and fishermen were nothing but a bunch of strugglers with less to no means. Through his primary school, he balanced between school and fishing. It was the life of any student who hailed from a family like his. His father's income dwindled with every new year in the deteriorating fishing industry in many beaches in Lake Victoria.
So, after sitting and passing his KCPE exams, his father settled for his village school of Makasembo where Odhiambo literally walked to school. Growing up with a reality of struggle, Odhiambo was determined to succeed through education. He recounts that throughout his first year in secondary school, he excelled in almost all his subjects. He loved English Language, Math, Biology, Agriculture and Physics. He could have loved Music too but as is the story of many village day secondary schools, Music was not one of the subjects offered at Makasembo. The basis of competition at Makasembo during his time was limited to Academics and Soccer. Not interested in sports, he chose academics and was a disciplined, hard-working student who gave his all.
But at the end of that year, his record with the school accounts were not pleasing. At the time, two of his step brothers from the first family were also demanding much in school fees. His eldest step brother was in Kenyatta University while the other in Form 3. These pressure fell hard on his father. Odhiambo survived the whole year, in and out of school. Finishing a whole year was largely because of the effort, commitment and discipline he put. He was not bitter with his father though. He tells me that he admired his eldest brother who was in the University because he was more academically gifted. Odhiambo felt that perhaps he could help his father by lessening the burden. After all, he had not gone far. He could reconsider later when the burden was lighter.
"My father was a dreamer. He wanted to do much for us, each one of us indiscriminately. But I could see that he was struggling. To be honest, I admired my eldest brother from the first family. He was more academically gifted. I sympathized with my father. This other brother was already in Form 3. I had to make decision. Hard but I had to, fairly." Odhiambo tells me.
During the December holiday of 2003, Odhiambo walked to his father and told him that he would not be going back to school. The old man listened to him in silence. As a father, he was not ready to admit that he was almost going down with the weight of financial demands. Besides, school fees was not something the old man considered a thing to give up on. After some silence, he told Odhiambo that he was not in support of the idea. He assured him that he was doing everything he could to ensure that he clears the balance. But Odhiambo had decided. He never went back to school in January 2004.
Meeting Osito Kale, a Teacher in the School of Life
When he decided that he was not going back to school, Odhiambo did not have many choices. In fact the biggest dream was to survive, and help his mother's house in any way he could. The most immediate way was to join the only economic activity that the village depended on, fishing. It was not a hard decision. It was something he had always done albeit informally. But now as the only hope and occupation, Odhiambo's eyes opened to the numerous challenges that full time fishermen in Malela experienced.
It was never going to be sufficient because it was almost designed by the local politics (and the capitalism) to be so. In those beaches, those who do not own a boat have nothing to smile about. They face the cold waters in the morning and the determined mosquitoes in the middle of the night. They are numbed by the cold and their muscles overstretched by weight of the paddles. At the end of the day, it is all for the benefit of the boat owner who may know less or nothing about their predicaments.
But Odhiambo kept on hoping that one day, a door would open. Here too, he was ready to learn. It was now the school of life teaching him. He did not need to pay school fees as such but there were prices to pay depending on the level you fell in the fishing chain. When necessary, he supplemented with all manner of odd jobs to support himself and the family, mostly his mother's house. At one point, he tells me, he abandoned the lake and his ways and went into charcoal business. He fell trees, cut them into pieces, arranged them nicely in a shallow grave the way it is done.
In his characteristic quest to know, he learnt how to light the whole thing to burn without producing flames. He knew when it was ready and how you had to pack it and carry on a bicycle all the way to the market. Sometimes you sold but there were also days you had to carry it back, peddling with less hope. Life was not always assuring but he kept on searching. He was learning the virtues of patience and persistence. Sometimes at the back of his mind, he doubted whether he had made the right decision to quit school. He was realizing that there is less one could do with a class eight certificate in an economy that was designed for academic success. But it was too late.
Having exhausted the possibilities around his rural home, he decided to try his luck elsewhere. He went to visit his maternal grandmother's home in Seme, Akala. Until this time, Odhiambo was like any of us. He had never thought of himself as a musician. In fact, unlike the stories of many artists, he blankly told me that he had never done anything in his early years that could point to his future as a musician. The only thing he knows is that he loved listening to music, especially the classic Benga from Awino Lawi. Awino Lawi was long dead. But hardly 10 kilometers away from his rural village, Awino Lawi's mentee, Osito Kale was reigning the Benga airwaves with his Nabii Kings. Osito was already a household name and like any other boy growing up in those years, Odhiambo loved the works of Osito too.
While on his visit at his uncles' in Seme, it happened that the Benga Maestro Osito Kale was playing in Akala, the nearby market. Osito's Nabii Kings had contract with Connection Bar to play on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Odhiambo slowly developed interest in the live band and the sight of his hero in flesh and blood made it grow stronger. He began frequenting Connection Bar on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Deep inside, he was getting convinced that it was something he loved and could do. He just did not know how. One such day, he gathered courage and approached Osito Kale. He told him that he was interested and would want to join his team.
Osito Kale and his Nabii King Band was not any ordinary team. Osito of the time was in his peak and his band was already transforming to somewhat a Music School. He was already mentoring many upcoming artists whose names had started hitting the airwave. Opiyo Bilongo of the Book of Love, the late Omondi Long' Lilo of Migwena Super Kings, Aluoch Pamba who would later marry the Luo Benga Legend D.O Misiani were some of the members of the band.
So, when he walked up to Osito Kale and asked what he could do to join his team, the band leader did not push him away. It was something he was already doing and this was just another student seeking admission. He put to him to test, the first class to see if he meant what he wanted.
Odhiambo tells me that he began as gatekeeper. His first role was to ensure that those who were coming to dance had the entrance requirement which was a bottle of soda. Sometimes he was part of the security detail but it was not even in official capacity. But he persisted and soon, he became a cleaner. He was put in charge of cleaning the instruments after use. He was part of the packing team for a long time.
His zealous nature and light mind helped him to learn the ropes first. Odhiambo became keener on the stage arrangement and the choreography of it all. After some times, he was not only unpacking but also setting the stage. He was yet to play instruments but his eyes were keen on stars like Omondi who were far much ahead of him. Also, he was slowly beginning to trust himself with the vocals. His golden voice, what has becoming the obsession of many today, was far from being discovered.
Osito Kale or Jaduong' as they referred to him was a teacher and magnificent leader. He had a superb relationship with his boys and was always giving them opportunities to prove themselves. One of his most outstanding philosophy was that music was a career like any other and whoever wanted to excel in it, had to give it his or her all. This perspective was different because the music industry at the time had become a playground for men and women who took music for leisure. He taught his boys and girls the value of having a family and not using their hard-earned fame for debauchery.
Again, he was clear that they should have a plan, invest and grow. And growth to Osito Kale did not mean becoming your best and earning him more money. It also meant becoming confident enough to go and build your band and keep the Benga world growing. So, Odhiambo already knew what was demanded from him. He could see the end of the the journey, the goal. But it was going to take some time. He appreciates that the environment set by Osito Kale was friendly and he forged friendship with his seniors who helped him to learn even faster.
It was not Osito Kale who gave Odhiambo the opportunity of his life to get the stage and sing for the very first time. It happened when Osito was away in Nairobi. Osito had trained his team so well, they could work even if he was away for months. So one day the team called him to stage as a backup vocalist. Although he did not feel he was ready, he was going to let the opportunity escape him. He boisterously went to the microphone and it began what would become a voice nobody wanted to ignore.
He knew it was the only opportunity, now. It was school away from the formal classroom and he did not make another mistake of dropping out. When Osito Kale the teacher came back, he found a man who was already proving to be a worthy signing to the team. He was not just a potential singer, he was also proving to be a creative songwriter as well.
Teachers Are the Greatest
"I left school when my heart was still in love with education. I knew it was only through education I could do great things, things that only education, or those who have it, could and can do." He told Simy Kenya in an interview in 31st March, 2022.
This was the response to the same question I had always wanted to ask him as his fan. Odhiambo's star began to shine. He became a regular vocalist in the team and was quickly learning the instruments. He settled on the solo guitar and this helped to advance his song skills. He recorded his first two albums songs under Nabii Kings in 2005/2006. The album had its leading song, an emotive dirge that Osito Kale composed for his departed wife Nyakadenge. Odhiambo did not help in the vocal but was singer, taking after Osito in rendering melodiously the lines that remained in the lips of many for years.
In the album, he contributed one song that praised his home and the heroes. Titled Uyoma Onyuolo Thuondi (Uyoma has birthed great names), Odhiambo creatively celebrated the people he admired in his extended clan of Uyoma. He was already appreciative of the mentorship and the leadership they offered to him. He mentioned names like Odeny Ngure, former Rarieda MP and Otiende Amollo, the current member of parliament. But he also mourned the death of some of the greatest names they had lost to death.
The second song was a specific praise to Thomas Oyolla, a highly educated, a wealthy neighbor and a close member of the clan whom he looked up to as the true embodiment of what education could do. He saw in Oyolla, an image of a future he longed for in education but had been forced to abandon. Oyolla is an inspector of police who has helped many people to get jobs. Perhaps, Oyolla may have helped him secure a job had he completed his schooling. But he his happy that he discovering a different path in music. He points a finger to those who are demeaning musicians, telling them that music is also an alternative path to greatness. He cites D.O Misiani and Osito Kale, his teacher.
This explains why the next time Odhiambo went to studio, he was obsessed with nothing but the power education and the teachers who are the center of it. In composing the song Jopuonj E Jomabeyo, Odhiambo was taking a reflective journey in his education and deferred dreams. He was not only celebrating teachers, he was emphasizing the equalizing power of education that he himself did not get to experience in totality. Odhiambo, after assessing the failing traditional economics of Luo Nyanza, describes education as the only business.
Thurwa ka to somo e ohala, nikech gima isomo ema itimo
(In this region, education is the business because it is what you have studied that counts.)
This observation was true and still remains a unique (but sad) characteristic of Luo Nyanza where bad politics and years of political exclusion killed all local industries. Poor climate and the failing fish industry left the Luo man with only one option; to excel in academics. People like Odhiambo who had no otherwise but to quit school were not assured of any future. Talent was an option but there were no structures even in schools to identify and develop it. Teachers in school stressed and fronted academic excellence as the only option. And Odhiambo, having learnt firsthand in the School of Life, chose to encourage those in school to never risk quitting (even if they wanted to become musician). He is very categorical when he mentions and celebrates his friends who never quit.
Wuod gi sheri koro katieko, to ochuna mondo aparie osiepe
As I get to the end, I have to celebrate you friends
Osiepe ga mosomo motieko ubende nyaka aparu e waya
You who persisted in your education and never quit, I celebrate you.
Odhiambo Tusker may not have been lucky to continue with school. But he had a dream he never quit.
"I left school when my heart was still in love with it. But I had to do it, and I promised myself that my siblings and my children must one day go to schools, better schools and get good education." He says.
And many years later, his message still inspires many students but much more, the teachers like myself he praised their transformative and inspiring works are more proud and telling the story more than a decade later.
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