The National Congress of British West Africa, founded in 1919 was the brainchild of

Analyze the question: It asks who conceived the idea of the National Congress of British West Africa (NCBWA), which was founded in 1920 (the preparatory idea dates from 1919).

Concept: The NCBWA was the first major attempt at a regional, pan-West African nationalist organisation covering the British colonies: Gold Coast, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and The Gambia. Its aims were to push for elected representation in the legislative councils, the Africanisation of the civil service, and improved education and rights under colonial rule.

Step-by-step reasoning:

1. Founder: Joseph Ephraim Casely Hayford, a Gold Coast lawyer, journalist and nationalist, is widely credited as the originator and chief architect of the NCBWA. He convened the inaugural conference in Accra in 1920 and served as its first president.

2. Eliminating the other options: • Herbert Macaulay was a key Nigerian nationalist who founded the Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP) in 1923. He supported the Congress and led its Nigerian branch, but he was not its originator. • John Mensah Sarbah was a Gold Coast nationalist who helped found the Aborigines' Rights Protection Society (1897). He died in 1910, before the Congress began. • Nnamdi Azikiwe rose to prominence later, in the 1930s and 1940s, with the NCNC and the West African Pilot. • Obafemi Awolowo was a later figure who founded the Action Group in 1951.

3.

Tip: Link "Casely Hayford" with "Congress" and "Gold Coast". Also remember: Hayford = NCBWA, Macaulay = NNDP, Azikiwe = NCNC, Awolowo = Action Group.