Dr. Kingsley Nyarko
Exactly 117 years ago, in 1904, a great man, a solid patriot, and a nationalist, in the person of Baffour Osei Akoto was born to Kofi Owusu Sekyere of Heman and Nana Akosua Apea. He was the father of Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, former Member of Parliament for Kwadaso Constituency (2009-2017), immediate past Minister of Food and Agriculture (2017-2021) and current Minister-designate of Food and Agriculture.
Baffour Akoto, who was trained as a mechanic and worked with F & A Swanzy company, was later chosen by Nana Sir Agyeman Prempeh II as a senior linguist to the Asante Kingdom in 1935–a position he diligently served and acquitted himself excellently till he joined his ancestors in 2002.
It is significant to mention that he held that enviable and prestigious position for 68 years: this is a monumental achievement.
Credit
If the NPP has survived and thrived and formed the government under the fourth republican dispensation on four different occasions, we should give credit to Baffour Osei Akoto who made this possible after forming the National Liberation Movement (NLM) in 1954 at Kejetia in Kumasi.
Baffour Akoto was one of the few courageous and patriotic individuals who spoke against the one-party system introduced by Kwame Nkrumah. In 1959, he and seven others were arrested and detained without trial under the preventive detention act (PDA) of 1958. In fact, it was the NLM—a party he formed that later was joined by other parties and became the United Party (UP) in 1957, the Progress Party (PP) in the second republic in 1969, and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) under the current dispensation.
Baffour Akoto was a hero who deserves the best recognition in our politics, especially by the NPP. We cannot and should not bury the name of this great personality in our politics because, but for him, the NPP tradition and her success story couldn’t be told.
We owe him a sacred duty, and must ensure that this current generation and posterity never forget his role in promoting multi-party democracy in this country. His sacrifices in ensuring a free society anchored in the rule of law can’t be ignored. He was one of the greatest patriots; let’s treat him as such. Something significant must be done to honour his memory, and it must be done now!!!
God bless Ghana!!!
