Dr. RP Baffour is famous in Ghana for being the first Ghanaian to be appointed Director and then Vice Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi. A close friend of Kwame Nkrumah, the first prime minister and president of Ghana, Dr. Baffour lost his job in 1967 when the military government of the time removed the last vestiges of the Nkrumah regime. The author did not arrive in Ghana until February 1971, so he feels fortunate to have met, and even got to know, the great pioneering engineer who left an indelible mark on Ghana’s premier engineering school.

Founded in 1952 by the merger of several universities, on land donated by Asantehene (King of Ashanti) Prempeh II, the institution that would become KNUST was initially guided by two distinguished British scholars: Dr. JP Andrews (1952 – 54 ) and Dr. WE Duncanson (1954-1960). Dr. RP Baffour was appointed director in 1960, the year that Kwame Nkrumah transformed Ghana into a Republic with himself as president. Two years later, Dr. Baffour was appointed the first vice-chancellor of the fledgling university. He immediately set about transforming 18 square kilometers of secondary shrubbery into one of the most beautiful college campuses in the world.

In the task that was proposed, RP Baffour’s friendship with the president was of great help. The stories of those eventful years have become apocryphal. Faculty buildings, student residences, a large assembly hall, and an impressive library building rose from the red lateritic soil and were surrounded by extensive lawns adorned with flowering shrubs and trees. The shady and tree-lined avenues linked the academic areas with the administrative, community and commercial centers and the urbanizations.

When a time came when the president got tired of such heavy spending, it is said that the vice chancellor would order the foundation for the next great structure to be dug and invite his friend to see the progress and free up funds for the construction of the building. finished. How Dr. Baffour persuaded Nkrumah to fund an Olympic swimming pool to attract distinguished foreign academics to the university is a secret that may never be revealed.

Dr. RP Baffour left a reputation in Kumasi as a practical and practical engineer. It was related how, while driving from Kumasi to Accra, he came across a state transport bus that had broken down. He stopped his car and fixed the problem with the bus before resuming his trip. On another trip to Accra, he decided to go by train and convinced the driver to let him ride the locomotive and take the controls. Even if these tales have been embellished by recounting, it is clear that the first vice chancellor provided a role model for the type of engineer his country needed and his university sought to train.

For some years after the departure of Dr. Baffour, and with the former president overthrown and in disgrace, the University of Kumasi removed “Kwame Nkrumah” from his name. However, as time passed, the old feelings faded and famous names were restored. RP Baffour was called to Kumasi to receive an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the university he once led. Some time after the ceremony, the author met the great man alone, descending the steps of the Great Hall, his magnificent robe still draped over his bowed shoulders. He seemed very moved and was possibly delaying his departure until he recovered. Forever the gentleman, responded to the words of congratulation and with tears on his cheeks added: ‘To think that this could happen to me!’

The last time the author met with Dr. Baffour was in Accra, at the University Guest House. This time he spoke extensively about his latest project. He wanted to build a plant on the coast near his hometown, Cape Coast, to electrolyze seawater and produce chlorine and sodium hydroxide. This, in his opinion, could lay the groundwork for a plastics and chemical industry. The old man is gone and the plant has yet to be built, but when it finally becomes a reality, it would be fitting that it be named after him.