The late Baffour Osei Akoto was born to Nana Akosua Apea and Kofi Owusu Sekyere of Heman in 1904. He was the direct descendant of Asantehene Osei Bonsu. He trained as a mechanic and worked with F & A Swanzy Company (transport section). Bafuor Osei Akoto (1904-2002) was a Ghanaian agriculturalist, traditional ruler and politician. He was the founder and leader of the National Liberation Movement. He was a linguist of the Asantehene and resided in the Manhyia Palace 9 in Kumasi. He was the child of Kofi Owusu Sekyere and Nana Akosua Apea. Before he was chosen as the chief Linguist of the Asantehene, he was a mechanic working with the transportation division of F&A Swanzy Company in the Gold Coast.
He was chosen by Nana Sir Agyeman Prempeh II, as a senior linguist for the Asante-kingship in 1935, a position he held until his death. He occupied this office for 68 years.
He combined his role as a traditionalist with national politics in the early 1950s. He contributed to the formation of the National Liberation Movement (NLM), the main opposition party of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s Convention People’s, Party (CPP), which he led.
He contributed, advocated, and propelled the establishment of democracy in the country. He was among prominent politicians who opposed the dictatorial rule of the Nkrumah government. He fought alongside Dr. J.B. Danquah of Kyebi to oppose Nkrumah’s authoritarian rule.
In 1954, he organized disaffectioned Ashanti members of the Convention People’s Party to form a new political party called the National Liberation Movement. The party later became the United Party after a series of mergers with other political parties. In the early 1990s, there was another name change and the party became known as the New Patriotic Party, the current ruling party of Ghana.
He spoke against the one-party state system introduced by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. These led to his arrest and imprisonment for seven year.
