Atukwei Okai was born on 15 March 1941 in Accra, Ghana, and from the age of three for eight years lived in the country's Northern Region, where his father (Ga by birth) was a school headmaster in Gambaga.Femi Akomolafe, "An Interview With Professor Atukwei Okai" , Ghana Politics, 6 November 2014. Okai was educated at the Gambaga Native Authority School, Nalerigu Middle Boys' School, and then at Methodist Middle Boys' School in Accra and Accra High School.
