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| Members of the National Congress of British West Africa |
National
Congress of British West Africa -NCBWA (1920)
The National Congress of British West
Africa was formed in Accra in March 1920 by J.E. Casely Hayford, a
Sekondi lawyer. This movement differed from the ARPS in two main ways.
The
first difference was its middle class nature and the lack of attachment to the
chiefs, and second, its activities and demands went beyond the frontiers of the
Gold Coast to the other British West African territories. Therefore the NCBWA
could be seen as the first inter-territorial nationalist movement in British
West Africa.
In
all, 52 delegates attended its inaugural meeting - 6 from Nigeria, 3 from
Sierra Leone, 1 from the Gambia and 42 from the Gold Coast. The congress
elected T. Hutton-Mills as President, J. E. Casely Hayford-Vice
President, Dr. F.V. Nanka-Bruce and L. E. V. McCarthy-Joint Secretaries,
A.B. Quartey-Papafio and H. Van Hein as Joint Treasurers.
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| J. E. Casely Hayford-Vice President |
Demands
and Resolutions of the NCBWA
The delegates of the NCBWA drew up 82
resolutions which covered 12 topics. Among some of the resolution and demands
were:
1. The
Legislative Councils in British West Africa should have half, which is 50%, of
its membership directly elected.
2. There
should be a West Africa House of Assembly made up of all the members of the
Legislative Councils plus 6 financial representatives elected by the people to
control revenue and expenditure.
3. There
should be the establishment of a Municipal Councils dominated by Africans.
4. The Civil Service should be Africanised.
5. Syrian
and Lebanese traders should be expelled from West Africa.
6. The
right to install or depose chiefs should continue to be in the hands of the
people.
7. A West African University should be
established.
8. A Law making education compulsory be enacted
and that the standard of primary and secondary education should be raised.
With
these demands, in September 1920 the Congress sent a delegates to London. The
delegates remained in London until January 1921. However, their demands for
constitutional and judicial reforms were rejected and Lord Milner, the colonial
secretary, refused to grant them audience.
Achievements
of the NCBWA
The congress succeeded in pressuring the
colonial administration to make changes in their colonial administration. Some
of these achievements were:
1.
The principle of elective representation was
for the first time introduced into the 1922 Constitution of Nigeria, the 1924
Constitution of Sierra Leone and the 1925 Constitution of Ghana.
2. The
Congress was the first practical attempt of Pan-Africanism, which sought to
unite the African elite to fight for a common cause.
3. Through
the activities of the Congress, the Colonial Administration gave its blessing
to higher education with the establishment of Achimota College in Ghana, Prince
of Wales College in Sierra Leone and Armitage College in The Gambia.
4. It
was also through the agitation of the Congress that the Medical Service in
British West Africa was opened to Africans.
5. Also,
the Congress succeeded in getting established, the West African Court of Appeal
to serve the four Colonies. The court was not subject to the control of the
Governor and thus to some extent injected confidence in the administration of
justice in the Colonies.
Failures of the NCBWA
1. The
Congress did not consult the colonial governors before sending delegations to
the secretary of state for the colonies in London. Hence, the congress was
attacked by Guggisberg and Huge Clifford.
2. The
congress was made up of only educated elite and therefore did not aligned with
the ordinary people who constituted a greater percentage of the population.
Hence the congress did not have a broad support base.
3. Also, the Congress failed to bring the chiefs,
(who were then more powerful and influential), into their fold. In fact, the
chiefs became hostile towards the Congress as they regarded it as an attempt to
usurp their traditional function as leaders of the people.
4. The
Congress did not set up any effective machinery to carry out its plans. The
absence of a central secretariat to co-ordinate its activities in the colonies
meant that it did not work together
5. Lastly,
the death of Casely-Hayford, the moving spirit of the Congress in 1930, brought
the movement to its knees as his replacement was not immediately available.
Past Questions
· Name any
three early nationalist movements in Ghana up to 1939.
· Outline
any four demands of the National Congress of British West Africa. (MAY/JUNE
2016)