Robert Patrick Baffour
Robert Patrick Baffour,, was a Ghanaian engineer, politician and university administrator who served as the first Vice Chancellor of the Nkrumah University of Science and Technology">Kwame Nkrumah">Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. He was also a pioneer in engineering education in Ghana.
Early life and education
Robert Patrick Baffour was born on 14 May 1912 in Elmina. His father was in the service of the British Civil Service in Nigeria as a Master of Schools. He was the first-born son of Robert Patrick Baffour Andoh and Maria Frederica Adwoa Kane.His paternal grandfather was the illustrious Chief Kweku Andoh of Elmina who served in Sir Garnet Wolseley's military campaign against Prempeh I, King of the Ashanti. He was made regent of Edina State upon the expulsion of Chief Kobina Gyan by the British. Baffour's paternal grandmother was the eldest daughter of Yaa Na Yakubu I of the Dagomba tribe named Napari. She was rescued from the Ashanti by Chief Andoh during the campaign against Prempeh and was given the name Efua Yendi. She was also known as Nana Awuyea.
His maternal grandfather was Chief Nii Kofi Okai of the Gbese quarter, Accra, who was commonly known as Joseph H. Kane. He had a career as a scholar and a merchant. Baffour was also a great-grandson of George Emil Eminsang, who was the very first Western-educated lawyer on the Gold Coast.
Between 1917 and 1926, Baffour attended various schools in Ghana and Nigeria: Catholic School in Elmina, Okar Government School in Nigeria and the Richmond College.
Baffour attended the Mfantsipim School and obtained the Cambridge Senior School Certificate with exemption from London Matriculation. After secondary school, he achieved the singular honour of coming first in the Civil Service Examination of his time. Yet instead of joining the British Civil Service, he chose to continue his education at Achimota College to study engineering, where he was taught by Charles Deakin, a founding engineering instructor at the school. He became the first Ghanaian to obtain a University of London degree in mechanical engineering on Ghanaian soil.
Career
Engineering and public service
Baffour began his career with the Gold Coast Railways and later became a lecturer of engineering at Achimota School. Among his inventions and innovations were theHe also held several administrative posts in the civil service, among them that of Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Transport and Communication. He was instrumental in the selection of the sites for the Akosombo Dam, the planning and expansion of the Tema city and Harbour, the Elmina Fishing Harbour Project in addition to the founding of the Nautical College and the Black Star Line. When Baffour worked at the Accra City Council, he was involved in automobile design, specifically the
During his career, Baffour held several distinguished posts, including as chairman of the Integrated Iron & Steel Commission and the first chairman of the Ghana Atomic Energy Board. He was a driving force in the fundraising for the Opon Manse Steel Works.
He was the instigator of the Kwabenya Nuclear Plant project that was halted, six months from completion, by the military coup against Kwame Nkrumah. In 1962, Baffour was elected president of the 6th regular session of the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency.