STEVIE WONDER GRANTED GHANAIAN CITIZENSHIP
Singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder has been granted citizenship by the Ghanaian president. The event took place at the country’s presidential palace on the music icon’s 74th birthday.
When President Nana Akufo-Addo presented the singer with a birthday cake with a Ghanaian flag iced on top, he said: “This is it, congratulations!”
Although Wonder is American-born and was raised there as well, he has shared his love for the African country for decades. Back in 1975, the Grammy-winning singer expressed his desire to quit the music industry and move to Ghana.
In the 1990s, Wonder was invited to headline a Ghanaian music festival where he again expressed his desire to live there.
In 2021, the singer announced that he longs to escape racial injustice in America and plans to move to Ghana.
Akufo-Addo isn’t the first Ghanaian president to have a friendship with Wonder. Late president Jerry Rawlings hosted him in the 1990s and even allowed him to co-pilot a plane.
“I was able to fly with him from one end of Ghana to the other end. The north to the south, and it was amazing.”
The BBC reports that in a statement, Ghana’s interior ministry said Wonder becoming a citizen “marks a significant milestone in the country’s efforts to attract diasporan Africans and recognise outstanding contributions to the African diaspora”.
Image credit: BBC