Baffour Osei Akoto

Among the most important historical figures in Ghana, Baffuor Osei Akoto (1904-2002) was a Ghanaian agriculturalist, traditional ruler, and politician. He was the Asantehene's linguist and lived in Kumasi's Manhyia Palace.

Baffour Osei Akoto was the founder and leader of the National Liberation Movement, a Ghanaian political party founded in 1954. The NLM was founded by disgruntled Ashanti members of the Convention People's Party, who were joined by Kofi Abrefa Busia, to oppose the process of centralization while preserving the role of traditional leaders. The party gained some support in the Gold Coast legislative election, 1956, and became the third largest party in the Assembly with 12 seats, trailing the Convention People's Party and the Northern People's Party.

Kofi Owusu Sekyere and Nana Akosua Apea were his parents. He was a mechanic with the transportation division of F&A Swanzy Company in the Gold Coast before being appointed as the Asantehene's chief Linguist.

In 1954, he organized disaffected Ashanti members of the Convention People's Party to form the National Liberation Movement, a new political party. After a series of mergers with other political parties, the party was renamed the United Party. Another name change occurred in the early 1990s, and the party became known as the New Patriotic Party, Ghana's current ruling party.

He spoke out against Dr. Kwame Nkrumah's one-party state system. As a result, he was arrested and imprisoned for seven years.