Here are your flowers Bob ‘Headmaster’ Nyabinde

BOB NYABINDE is a man of many talents. He is a music legend, a teacher, a footballer, and a gifted cartoonist. His life story is a reminder of the importance of remaining abreast with values of Ubuntu and giving credit where it’s due. It also highlights the need to appreciate people while they are still alive.

Nyabinde’s name has been in the limelight for decades. Starting off in the academic field, he rose through the ranks from an ordinary teacher to that of a headmaster. His teaching career ended on a high note when he was a headmaster at RJ Davies in Torwood and Chana Primary School in Mbizo in Kwekwe. He dropped the chalk in 2008.

In the football field, his talent dates back to when he used to play for Mutare United and Zisco Steel before upgrading his football skills by acquiring a Fifa 1st Level Coaching Certificate which he put to good use at schools where he taught.

As a jack of all trades, Nyabinde was once a cartoonist with Chronicle newspaper in the early 1990s. His drawing skills would appeal to a cross-section of readers who found his comic relief engaging. He used to draw under the pen name Gwenzi.

In music, Nyabinde is a darling to his jazz fans. He made a breakthrough in the early 2000s, and accolades have come his way. Nyabinde’s music and voice belted off the FM stereos much to the delight of music lovers in both rural and urban areas.

His life has been a roller-coaster ride from growing up with sharp eyesight only to turn blind later, which has been a life-changing experience.

Saturday Leisure had a sit down with Nyabinde recently. This was a moment that was an eye opener into a celebrity who surely deserves to be honoured.

“I am an artiste by nature, a teacher by profession and a headmaster by promotion. I was born in Manicaland to Lizzie Mugadza and Agabu Kenneth Nyabinde. My upbringing was not an easy one. I lost my father at a very tender age and my mother was a domestic worker.

“Since I was the only boy I had to quickly step up and assist my mother in taking care of the family. But I must appreciate my relatives, the Mugadzas who would chip in to help their sister and I was later then taken by father’s relatives to stay with the family in Mt Jenya where there is Osborne Dam now. I grew up doing chores at school during holidays to pay for my fees,” said Nyabinde.

Nyabinde said he finally found solace in music.

“My journey in music is a long one. We used to learn playing the guitar in Mutare at St Joseph’s Mission Church with my friends. At first my mother was not supportive of the music career because it was associated with a lot of irresponsibility. My breakthrough came in 2003 when I recorded my first album Pane Nyanya which has the track Chabuda Hapana.

“In 2004, I won my very first national accolade which was the best Jazz Artist in the Zimbabwe Music Awards (Zima). I was ecstatic. In 2005 I also got the chance to play during the Miss World Tourism which Zimbabwe hosted at HICC and this is a moment I will forever remember my whole life,” he said.

The road is not always smooth for humans, and Bob Nyabinde discovered this the hard way when his eyesight deteriorated while he was doing what he loves most: performing.

“The lowest moments in my career include one of my last shows in 2019 just before I knew I had diabetes. We went to perform at a high-profile hotel in Nyanga. Health was taking a toll on me. My son Agga had to finish the gig for me. The following day we went for a check-up and the doctors confirmed I had diabetes. It had already affected 60 percent of my eyesight.

“I can say I thank God for allowing me to see one day at a time. It’s not easy I must confess because I used to see very well and do my own things but now I have to rely on someone for movement. I am quite hopeful that someday I will be well. I am also recovering from stroke but the progress is slower than what I would have wanted. The zeal to go up the stage and give people some music is still in me,” said Nyabinde.

Before attesting to the transformation of the way the music business was conducted in the past, he believes his journey to be among the finest a living human can experience.

“I would say I have achieved a great deal of what I wanted in life. My passion in music was more of manufacturing and repairing guitars. I started singing in the mainstream industry so that I can have access to established musicians and network with them so that I can fix their guitars when they face problems and I am glad I ended up achieving more than that. Most of them are like family now.

“Things have changed. In some areas for the better but in some areas for the worst. Recording and releasing music is now way easier than what it used to be. All the same it is now very hard for Zimbabwean musicians to make money with music sales. Back then cassette and CD sales were controllable and one could get a handsome cheque from your recordings,” said Nyabinde.

He expressed gratitude for the help he has been getting from other artistes and people, and urged people to live up to the spirit of ubuntu.

“My colleagues in the music industry have been supportive from day one. They give me emotional therapy through their calls and visits. Tomorrow they are hosting a fundraising concert just for my upkeep. And this is the second time this has happened. I feel greatly appreciated.

“Fellow Zimbabweans, thank you for your love and support. Some send me messages on social media, believe me I hear all of them. Some pray for my recovery and some send me gifts and contribution to my health. Continue to have such a good heart,” said Nyabinde.

From all of us at Saturday Leisure, we wish you a speedy recovery and hope you can get back to doing what you enjoy most as soon as possible. Here are your flowers, Bob “Headmaster” Nyabinde, with love.

@mthabisi_mthire