By: Samuel Ayammah
The chiefs and people of Yefri in the Nkoranza North District of the Bono East Region have unveiled a bust in honour of the founder of Osei Bonsu Senior High School, Nana Osei Mensah Bonsu Okufrobuor II.
The bust, mounted at the heart of the school, is described as a permanent reminder of the vision, sacrifice and enduring legacy that built the institution.
Speaking as Chairman of the occasion, the Chief of Yefri, Nana Okoforobour Opoku Gyimah Takyi II, said the bust is a long overdue tribute to his uncle.
“When my uncle first conceived the idea of establishing Yefriman Secondary School, it was just a distant dream marked by humble beginnings and monumental challenges, but he had an unwavering belief that education could transform lives,” he said.
Nana Takyi II said though the founder is no longer alive, his spirit lives on in the academic excellence, discipline and values of integrity and hard work instilled in every student.
He recounted that at the beginning of the school, his own living room served as a dormitory for the boys, showing the founder’s deep commitment. He added that the monument will serve as a source of inspiration for current and future students.
“This bust will stand for generations as a symbol of our foundation and a reminder that great things begin with humble seeds,” he said, describing Osei Bonsu SHS as the most important institution in Yefri, through which thousands from across the nation have come to know the town.
The Headmaster of the school, Joseph Louis Ubaabo Npanwin, said a small seed sown 22 years ago has grown into a big institution all can be proud of.
“A small seed sown 22 years ago has today grown into a big institution,” Mr. Npanwin said.
He said the school’s mission is to nurture disciplined students with a vision for high academic excellence and holistic development, anchored on core values of service, patriotism, efficiency, excellence, discipline and speed.
He disclosed that the school has 1,769 students — 484 Form Ones out of 624 placed, 660 in Form Two and 625 in Form Three — and is manned by 116 teaching staff, 25 non-teaching staff and 3 voluntary staff.
Mr. Npanwin said management has intensified monitoring of lesson delivery and is encouraging independent learning, while tightening discipline and rolling out programmes to unearth talents.
He mentioned a 12-unit classroom block and a girls’ dormitory block sponsored by GETFund as ongoing projects and thanked the Yefrihene and his elders for their support.
He however appealed for help to address inadequate accommodation for students, especially boys, to end the double track system, and accommodation for staff, noting that only one bungalow exists for the headmaster who stays with over a thousand boarding students, making night supervision difficult.
The Bono East Regional Director of Education, Rev. Fr. Kingsley Dwamena Asante, challenged stakeholders to build on the founder’s legacy and push the school to Category A status.
“This occasion reminds us of the sacrifices that went into the establishment of this school. What is your vision to improve upon what Nana Okufrobuor started?” Rev. Fr. Asante asked.
He said the vision cannot be achieved without sacrifice, referencing how the founding chief opened his home as a dormitory, describing it as humility worthy of emulation by students, teachers, chiefs and old students.
Nana Osei Mensah Bonsu Okufrobuor II, born on January 1, 1938 to the late Nana Yaw Mensah and the late Nana Yaa Kuma, was the second of eight children. He schooled in Yefri, Nkranza, Nkoranza and Buoyam, and later at the Normal Technical College in Koforidua and the Kwame Nkrumah Co-operative College.
He built a distinguished career with the Ghana Trades Union Congress before venturing into private enterprise including heavy equipment operations, commercial farming and serving in leadership of the Ghana Auctioneers Association.
Enstooled in 1979 as Chief of Yefri under the stool name Nana Okoforobour Osei Bonsu II, he was widely known as Nana Osei Mensah Bonsu Okufrobuor II and described as Oye Omani, a man devoted to his people’s development. Before Yefri was connected to the national grid, he personally acquired a commercial generator to power the community, championed road improvements and supported expansion of the police station and development of a fire service station, earning recognition from Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and former President John Agyekum Kufuor.
His biggest legacy was education. In September 2004, he established Yefriman Senior High School, which was absorbed into the public system in September 2011 as Osei Bonsu Senior High School. He converted his own residence into a female dormitory, provided scholarships, housed teachers and stayed closely engaged with the school’s growth, with a dream of establishing higher institutions in Yefri.
