Celebrities and drugs go together like banku and tilapia. For the sake of this article, we're not going to get into a debate about the severity of drug use or if smoking marijuana should even be considered drug use.
In most places in the world, including Ghana, it is illegal to smoke pot. Yet many celebrities, musicians especially, can't seem to stay away from it.
Remember when Chris Brown came to Ghana last year (2013) and smoked weed on stage? Many Ghanaian fans, including myself, were outraged.
It's one thing smoking when you're in your house and another smoking in public spaces, especially where smoking is forbidden. But I guess sometimes these celebrities think they are so big and invincible that they can flout the rules with impunity. Sometimes they do, most of the time in fact, but once in a while the law reminds them that they aren't above it.
Nigeria's Wizkid was in Kenya to shoot a video and to perform some shows. The singer, however, couldn't forgo his smoking habits and things went sour when the “Matter” singer was caught smoking in a hotel where smoking isn't allowed.
When Wizkid was checking out of the Nairobi Crown Plaza hotel, the manager of the hotel asked him if he had smoked in the hotel. Wizkid, maybe thinking that because he was a paying guest or because he was a celebrity that he shouldn't be questioned about his smoking, argued with the manager. The manager called the police.
The police showed up, determined that Wizkid had broken the law, and arrested, handcuffed and sent the singer to the police station. Shame on you, Wizkid! Who said you are above the law?!
Reports said Wizkid paid Sh50,000 to the hotel for the infraction. As for the Kenyan police, it took the intervention of Victoria Kimani, a Kenyan singer and Wizkid's new flame, to have Wizkid released from the police cell. Victoria is said to have been with Wizkid during his stay at the hotel.
So what is it that makes these celebrities think they are above the same rules and laws that the rest of us non-celebrities have to follow? Let's face it, celebrities, musicians, they entertain us, which is a useful thing. Sure, it isn't as useful as say fighting Ebola or helping to feed people, but you'd never know it by the praise they receive from the public and their fans, in particular.
We elevate these people to the status of demigods by constantly showering them with money and praise, and they parade through the world as if they are untouchable. But it's an illusion, the illusion of celebrity.
The reality is that celebrities are just as human as anyone else. They are, technically anyway, subject to the same laws as everyone else, and their bodies and minds react to harmful substances the same way. It takes someone like Whitney Houston dying from drug abuse or Wizkid being taken away in handcuffs to remind them of the reality that hasn't changed outside of their own perception.
Will this be a wakeup call to Wizkid and cause him to change his behavior, especially in public and as he relates to people? We'll see. Hopefully. Will this incident serve as a wakeup call to other celebrities who think they can get away with anything? LOL. Definitely not! But the one thing you have to admit is that it is just as entertaining, if not more so, seeing celebrities led away in handcuffs than it is watching them perform on stage!
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