In class students call him teacher of Mathematics and Physics while in the music world fan base, they call him ‘Rikanika, Senior, or mechanic senior’.
As Education News have a tee-tee briefly with him at his Ting’a home village in Nyamira County, the teachers whose real name is Dickson Ombeka Nyamweya, was born about 30 years ago.
Narrating his story with passion he admits that he is a career teacher but love for music and entertainment has made him venture into music industry as a side-hustle and self fulfilment.
“I am married to a career musician so I find it easy to blend my teaching career and music for self fulfilment and contribution to talent growth among my students,” he said.
He said his love for music started when he was in primary school but halted it to give room for full concentration for both his high school and University studies.
Ombeka further stated that immediately after University graduation he started to teach, however due to fans persuasion, he decided to revive his love for music and entertainment.
The teacher has found a musical tune where he composes and performs by blending traditional rhythms with modern and contemporary thematic sounds.
His songs genres comprises of love, family and other social issues that resonate with a wider audience.
Among his best hits include ‘Amasabo’, ‘Let us pray more’, ‘Kwamboka’, ‘Rikanika riane’ , ‘my mechanic’ and ‘Mapenzi tokore’, ‘love just finishes us’ done in Kisii, Kiswahili and English languages.
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On how he balances his music and teaching careers, he said that he uses music to wind off especially during the weekends as he uses it to identify arts and other related talents among his students, adding that he also guides and counsels to harness the talents without interfering with the academic pursuit.
The teacher has admitted that he aspires to establish his own recording studio in the future, to enable him run the industry as a private firm that offers competitive business and employment for qualified people and also help the government in solving the unemployment problem which is a bane among the youth of this country.
He also acknowledged the government efforts in promoting arts like music by the introducing CBC as the new education system which recognizes and encourage variety talents among enthusiastic and talented learners.
He asked the government to consider talented teachers in extra curriculum activities and promote them in order to motivate and encourage others join the art.
By Enock Okong’o
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