Air Commodore Thomas Niifio Okai was born on 4 October 1967 in Accra, Ghana. After his primary and secondary education, he graduated from the University of Ghana in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) Degree in Administration. He also holds a Post-graduate Certificate in Public administration, obtained from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) in 2001. Additionally, he holds a Master of Arts in International Affairs from the University of Ghana.

He was commissioned into the Administration Branch of the Ghana Air Force on 12 August 1994. He has held a number of appointments which include Officer Commanding Morale, Welfare and Recreational Flight, Personal Assistant to the Chief of Air Staff, Officer Commanding Personnel Services Squadron and Officer Commanding Administration Wing of the Air Force Base Accra. He was a Directing Staff at both the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (GAFCSC) and the Armed Forces Command and Staff College in Jaji, Nigeria. Air Commodore Okai was at a time the Chief Instructor of the Air Faculty GAFCSC, later becoming the Director Administration at the Ghana Air Force Headquarters. He held the position of Deputy Defence Adviser at the Ghana High Commission in London, United Kingdom. Air Commodore Okai is currently the Assistant Commandant, Senior Division of GAFCSC.

To help meet the reauirements of his various appointments, Air Commodore Okai has attended a number of courses both in and outside Ghana. These include Junior Officers' Command Course, Royal Air Force Henlow, United Kingdom and Infantry Property Protection Course, Hammelburg, Germany. Others are Senior Staff Course, Armed forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, Nigeria and Overseas Staff Colleges Directing Staff Course, Defence Academy of the United Kingdom. Conferences and workshops attended include G!obal Air Chiefs Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA and Soldier Pre-Deployment Workshop in North Dakota and Minnesota, USA.