How many delegates from Nigeria and Cameroon attended the London Constitutional Conference of 1953?

London Constitutional Conference of 1953

Analyze the question: It asks for the number of delegates from Nigeria and Cameroon at the 1953 London Constitutional Conference.

Background:

• The Macpherson Constitution of 1951 had weaknesses. Its regional and central arrangements were unstable.
• In March 1953, Chief Anthony Enahoro moved a motion in the House of Representatives for self-government in 1956. Northern members opposed it and walked out. Riots in Kano followed in May 1953.
• The Macpherson Constitution broke down. Britain then called a conference in London (July-August 1953) to revise the constitution. It was followed by the Lagos session in 1954.

Delegates:

• The delegations came from the main political parties (NCNC, Action Group, NPC) and from the Cameroons.
• The conference was chaired by the Colonial Secretary, Oliver Lyttelton.
• Standard Nigerian Government textbooks put the Nigerian and Cameroonian delegates at 19. I am recalling this figure from those textbooks rather than deriving it, since this is a factual-recall question.

Outcomes of the conference:

• Nigeria would become a federation.
• Regions would get greater autonomy.
• Lagos would be separated from the Western Region and made federal territory.
• Regional self-government would be granted to the Eastern and Western Regions in 1956.

Answer: C. 19

Exam tip: For constitutional-history questions, link each constitution or conference to its key event and date:

• Clifford (1922)
• Richards (1946)
• Macpherson (1951)
• Lyttelton (1954)

Numbers like this one are best memorised in a short timeline.