Popular American musician and songwriter, Steve Wonder, has revealed his intentions to permanently relocate to Ghana.
He told Oprah Winfrey in an interview that his decision is based on the fact that he doesn’t want a situation where his grand children will crave his indulgence to be valued and respected.
“I promise you if you do the right thing, I will give this song, I will give it to you, you can have it, because I want see before I move to Ghana because I am going to do that,” he said.
“Because I don’t want to see my children’s children have to say oh please like me, please respect me, please am important please value me, what kind of ….is that?,” he added.
Mr Wonder’s decision is coming at a time when most African-Americans have expressed their desire to relocate to Ghana after the nation’s “Year of Return” initiative to mark the 400th year of the transatlantic slave trade.
The world famous songwriter lost his sight as a newborn baby after developing a condition known as retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), an eye disorder caused by abnormal blood vessels throughout the retina. Receiving too much oxygen in the incubator likely worsened the condition for the tiny baby, leaving him blind.
Even though he hasn’t been able to see for most of this life, Wonder (born as Stevland Hardaway Judkins on May 13, 1950) has long had vision. From a breakthrough career as a Motown child prodigy to a 2019 inductee in the R&B Hall of Fame, the Michigan-born performer became one of the most-loved American musicians throughout his decades-long career.
Even as a child, Wonder never allowed his vision disorder to hold him back. At age five, he reportedly told his mother, “Don’t worry about me being blind, because I’m happy.”
When asked by Oprah Winfrey about the remark, he acknowledged it, saying, “It bothered me that my mother was crying all the time. She thought God might be punishing her for something. She lived during a time when things were particularly difficult for a woman in her circumstances.”
But his eyesight wasn’t the family’s only challenge. Living in poverty, they often faced hunger and, as Wonder’s mother said in a 2002 biography, Blind Faith: The Miraculous Journey of Lula Hardaway, Stevie Wonder’s Mother, his father drank, abused his mother and eventually forced her into prostitution.
Eventually, his mother moved the family to Detroit, where Wonder taught himself how to play instruments, including the piano, harmonica and drums before the age of 10. His talents caught the attention of Ronnie White of the band ‘The Miracle’, which led to an audition with Motown Records founder Berry Gordy Jr.
That set him on a course to become a household name, known for beloved hit songs including “Superstition,” “Higher Ground, “I Just Called to Say I Love You,” and “My Cherie Amour.”
