The National Congress of British West Africa (NCBWA) was founded in 1920 in Accra on the Gold Coast (now Ghana) by educated elites from the English-speaking West African colonies led by Joseph Casely Ephraim Hayford, a Ghanaian, and Dr. Akinwande founded. The savage of Nigeria. Other co-founders and early leaders were Edward Francis Small, F. V. Nanka-Bruce, A.B. Quartey-Papafio, Henry van Hien, A. Sawyerr, Chief Oluwa and Kobina Sekyi. The first meeting of the NCBWA was held at the Rogers (African) Club in Accra from March 11 to 29, 1920. Fifty-two delegates were present: forty-two from the Gold Coast (Ghana), six from Nigeria, three from Sierra Leone and one delegate from The Gambia. In 1921 the NCBWA sent a delegation to London with a petition outlining its demands to Lord Milner, then Foreign Secretary. The delegation led by Chief Oluwa included Herbert Macaulay, Egerton Shyngle, Dr. Akinwande Savage and Mr.Casely Haford, President of Congress. However, the trip to London proved to be a futile attempt. The congressmen were accused of being self-centered and representing no one outside the educated class and elite of their colonies. The Colonial Office further argued that West Africans were not yet ready for representative institutions and that it would be folly to allow them to do so. Demands of the National Congress of British West Africa (NCBWA) One of the main demands of the NCBWA was the granting of the electoral principle in West Africa.
They demanded that the election of representatives to the Legislative and Executive Councils must be based on the principle of eligibility. Another requirement is to provide West Africans with better educational and social facilities and to establish at least one university in West Africa. The NCBWA also called for the establishment of a federal form of government for the four British colonies in West Africa. They also wanted the appointment of African judges and justices of the peace and the creation of the West African Court of Appeal, the highest appeal court in the West African sub-region, the British West. They demand the creation of a legislative council in the four English-speaking colonies of West Africa. The Congress of also called for the independence of the judiciary from the Executive Council. In they demanded that African kings have the right to elect, appoint and dismiss African leaders. The British West African National Congress calls for the appointment of Africans to senior positions in the civil service and the judiciary.
Joseph Casely Ephraim Hayford
In 1929, at the establishment of the Nigerian Legislative Council, Sir Hugh Clifford made a recommendation for electoral representation, which was made by the colony’s new Secretary of State, Winston Churchill. Nigeria was then the first colony to adopt this electoral principle in British West Africa. It should be noted that when the eligibility principle was introduced, only those earning £100 or more, which was a considerable sum of money at the time, were allowed to vote. However, the accusation of self-centeredness brought great losses to the NCBWA, for after 1930 the Congress became a shadow of its former identity, although it met three times after a tour of London; its members met in 1924 (Freetown), 1926 (Bathurst) and 1930 (Lagos).
The British West African National Congress achieved some of its goals before its collapse. Conclusion of NCBWA Through the efforts of Congress, the principle of eligibility was introduced into British West Africa. Helps establish a Legislative Council in each West African colony. This helped give Africans more space to manage their own government. The NCBWA helped raise political awareness in British West Africa by organizing conferences in Accra, Lagos, Freetown and Bathurst. helped found political parties in British colonies in West Africa, including:g, the Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP), founded in 1923 by Herbert Macaulay. helped establish higher institutions in West Africa, including: Achimota College in Ghana, Fourah Bay College in Sierra Leone and Yaba College in Lagos, Nigeria. Challenges or Problems of the NCBWA One of the biggest problems of the British West African National Congress was financial. Because the financial base was not strong enough to support this spending, Congress could not be as effective as it should have been.
The leadership of the Congress is isolated. One reason for this was that the leaders did not support them or their activities. Another reason is that they failed to convince non-members that the NCBWA’s struggles would benefit them. The Congress faced competition from similar groups in the colony, including the Society for the Protection of Aboriginal Rights. The public worked tirelessly against the success of the British West African National Congress.For example, in a despatch to the Secretary of the Colonies, the company stated that Congress had not authorized the Gold Coasters to represent them in London. The activities of the British West African National Congress posed a threat to the effective administration of the colonial territories. For this reason, the governors of their respective West African colonies did everything to frustrate them.
Another problem faced by the British West African National Congress was its failure to mobilize the masses to support its efforts.
