Stevie Wonder becomes Ghanaian citizen at 74, realizes 50-year dream
Legendary American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder celebrated his 74th birthday as a Ghanaian as he was granted citizenship by the nation's president.
The Iconic musician embraced the West African nation as his new homeland in a ceremony that took place on May 13 within the halls of the Jubilee House, Ghana’s presidential palace.
Wonder after the fulfilment of a nearly 50-year-old dream said his decision to become a citizen of Ghana was down to his “respect and admiration” for the nation's history, culture, and values.
Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo after fulfilling the 25-time Grammy winner’s lifelong dream said “In conferring Ghanaian citizenship upon Stevie Wonder, we not only extend our warmest embrace to a beloved son of Africa, but also reaffirm our belief in the enduring spirit of Pan-Africanism and the global African family, and the boundless potential of our continent and all its descendants.”
The 74-year-old recounted his longtime admiration of the country in a conversation with Oprah Winfrey in February 2021, when he expressed his desire to move permanently to Ghana away from the racial injustice in the United States.
“I wanna see this nation smile again. And I want to see it before I leave to travel to move to Ghana because I’m going to do that… I don't want to see my children's children's children have to say, Oh, please like me,” he said.
Wonder is part of a list of global icons that have an affinity with the Gold Coast nation. Maya Angelou, a celebrated writer, spent part of her youth in Ghana, W.E.B du Bois, a renowned scholar also found a home in Ghana and is buried in the country, while Rita Marley, the wife of legendary Jamaican musician Bob Marley has a home in the eastern part of the nation.
