My Thoughts on Castro De Destroyer’s Death & the Search for His Body…So Far

It is day 3 and the bodies of talented Ghanaian musician-Castro De Destroyer (real name Theophilus Tagoe) and his alleged girlfriend-Janet Bandu who drowned with him at Ada have still not been found.

I’ve put together my thoughts (which I’ve shared on social media) so far for those interested—as I invite you all to share your thoughts on developments with us.

Day 1 | 6^th July, 2014

Though sad, I hope Castro’s death teaches us all a lesson. We ‘Ghanaians’ pride ourselves with everything foreign and we want to do whatever we see the West do, forgetting that there are rules and conditions. Chris Brown does it so Castro must do it too…

I have friends who Jet Ski a lot in Spain but these guys can also swim like whales. Anytime they jump on these machines, they have everything intact—-with life guards and sometimes coast guards not even far from them should there be any danger. These coast guards have planes and others for rescue purposes…

I understand accidents occur but they occur most under hazardous and unfit conditions. It is not even every water body or sea that people are allowed to really Jet Ski in certain parts of the West.

We need to leave behind those aspects of foreign lifestyles that we have NOT mastered.

A 5 year old British girl can swim like hell, and I don’t mean ‘Borla beach’ swimming, professional swimming!

So if you see this girl jumping up and down into water, you don’t have to jump too! We copy everything even when we don’t have the foundation…

How effective is even our search and rescue systems?

I know young guys who call themselves fast and furious in Ghana, racing on those pot holes roads because they’ve seen others do it on MTV or in some damn movies…

May His Soul Rest in Peace…

Day 2 | 7^th July 2014

Now, many people are confused—with some saying, Castro was wearing a life jacket and others saying, he was not. And so what?

A life jacket does not give you another life—and it does not make you a superman. It’s only a protective measure, not an absolute measure.

The same way you will not jump out of a plane because a parachute has been fixed to your back, so should you not jump into any water simply because you have a life jacket on…

What if the parachute never opens—same as, what if the life jacket is even faulty? There can be a lot of What IFs, the only SAFE IF is when we engage in less risky enterprises. And we must know when and where to take certain risks.

Anyone who has been on any water before with people will surely have been told that, no matter what, don’t turn yourself into a RESCUER—even if you are an expert in swimming.

I am not saying Castro did anything wrong at this stage (nor am I blaming him for anything) but I am saying, we must learn a lot from this and stop the life jacket business….

A lot is missing from the puzzle and until it is all solved (which I doubt will happen), we should place great value on our lives—with or without life jackets

Day 2 | 7^th July, 2014

Do you see the machines we are using for Castro’s rescue (photo below)? This is why I was saying…Taking some risk in Ghana must be well evaluated.

If it was anywhere in the West, you will be seeing helicopters and ‘proper machines’. We don’t have the rescue and response stuff for some accidents, therefore it is prudent we stay away and don’t go near activities that can invite such accidents.

These boats/whatever look like something Ja Rule has in his Miami house.And that is what we use for rescue…We have to think twice!

What are your thoughts so far?