Renowned Nigerian singer and music producer, Cobhams Asuquo, has opened up about the challenges and strength that come with living as a blind person, revealing that his condition motivates him to work significantly harder than his peers.
In an interview with Hip TV, Asuquo, known for hits like “One Hit,” explained that societal stereotypes about blind individuals often portray them as incapable.
This perception, he said, pushes him to defy expectations and prove his capabilities through hard work.
“My awareness of myself as a blind person makes me work five times as hard [as others]. Because I realised that there is a stereotype around a blind person and the general assumption is that you are incapable. And because of that, I work hard to show that I can be capable of so many things,” he stated.
Cobhams further clarified that he is not just visually impaired, but completely blind, emphasizing the importance of accepting one’s reality rather than sugar-coating it with euphemisms.
“I think it’s totally okay to be blind. Secondly, for all intents and purposes, I think the world has just gone soft to a certain degree. And that’s fine. I think it’s okay to be sensitive. But I think it’s also okay to identify where you are and what you are dealing with so that you are not living in denial and looking for all kinds of euphemistic ways and names to call it,” he said.
“Call it what it is. Deal with it for what it is and ensure your strength through your disability as opposed to all these very interesting names. Not everybody is going to agree with me and that’s fine.”
Embracing his condition fully, Asuquo expressed pride in how far he has come, stating that being completely blind has not hindered his achievements.
“I’m comfortable with being blind. Sometimes, we say impaired and I think impaired is great. My understanding of an impairment is that it’s weakness, it’s not a complete absence of something. So, if you are impaired, you are either weakened or unable to fully function in that capability. I’m not visually impaired, I don’t have a little bit of vision.
“I’m completely blind, I can’t see a thing. And that’s totally alright. I’m good with it. As a matter of fact, there’s some dark humour around it sometimes and I’m totally good with that. That is who I am. And I embrace it. I think it makes it even more special that I have been able to live the life that I’ve lived and I’ve been able to do the things that I’ve done.”
