Table Of ContentAfricA
f
How colonial rule generated conditions for
a
l
o
persistent violent confrontation l
a
“colonial violence treated Colonialism and Violence in Nigeria
looks closely at the conditions that created a leg-
from the point of view of the
acy of violence in nigeria. toyin falola examines
African victims/colonized,
violence as a tool of domination and resistance, C
not from the self-serving however unequally applied, to get to the heart of o
l
perspective of European/ why nigeria has not built a successful democracy. o
falola’s analysis centers on two phases of nigerian n
British conquerors
history: the last quarter of the nineteenth century, i
and colonizers.” a
when linkages between violence and domination
l
were part of the British conquest; and the first half i
—fElix EkEchi, s
kEnt StAtE UnivErSity of the twentieth century, which was character- m
ized by violent rebellion and the development of
A a
a national political consciousness. This important n
d
book emphasizes the patterns that have been
v
“Well-researched, well- formed and focuses on how violence and instabil-
written with its richly ity have influenced nigeria today. i
o
textured and nuanced l
toyin fAlolA is University Distinguished e
analysis, it is the first n
teaching professor at The University of texas at
c
study to attempt a general Austin. he has edited the following books pub-
e
lished by indiana University press: (with matt
and cohesive overview of i
n
D. childs) The Yoruba Diaspora in the Atlantic
the connections between n
World; (with kevin D. roberts) The Atlantic
C
violence and imperialism in World: 1450–2000; and (with Joel E. tishken and i
g
colonial nigeria.” Akíntúndé Akínyẹmí) S.àngó in Africa and the olonialism
e and
African Diaspora. r
n
—fUnSo AfolAyAn, i
a v
UnivErSity of nEW hAmpShirE cover illustration: courtesy ronke Adesanya
iolence igeria
in
INDIANA
University Press
Bloomington & Indianapolis
INDIANA
Toyin Falola
www.iupress.indiana.edu
1-800-842-6796
Colonialism
and Violence in
Nigeria
Colonialism
and Violence in
Nigeria
Toyin Falola
Indiana University Press
bloomington and indianapolis
This book is a publication of
Indiana University Press
601 North Morton Street
Bloomington, IN 47404-3797 USA
www.iupress.indiana.edu
Telephone orders 800-842-6796
Fax orders 812-855-7931
Orders by e-mail [email protected]
©2009 by Toyin Falola
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any
information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publisher. The Association of American University Presses’ Resolution on
Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition.
RThe paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the
American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper
for Printed Library Materials, ansi z39.48-1992.
Manufactured in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Falola, Toyin.
Colonialism and violence in Nigeria / Toyin Falola.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn978-0-253-35356-6 (cloth : alk. paper) —
isbn978-0-253-22119-3 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Nigeria—History—1851–1899. 2. Nigeria—History—1900–1960.
3. Nigeria—Politics and government—To 1960. 4. Nigeria—Colonization.
5. Nigeria—Colonial inXuence. 6. Violence—Political aspects—Nigeria—History.
7. Violence—Social aspects—Nigeria—History. 8. Political culture—Nigeria.
9. Great Britain—Colonies—Africa—Administration. I. Title.
dt515.7.f356 2009
966.9´03—dc22
2009017097
1 2 3 4 5 14 13 12 11 10 09
To
Dr. Ademola O. Dasylva
of theUniversity of Ibadan, Nigeria
The embodiment of what Nigeria needs to succeed
cont ent s
preface / ix
acknowledgments / xvii
nigerian history
Major events covered in this book / xxi
1 Violence and Colonial Conquest / 1
2 Resistance by Violence / 26
3 Violence and Colonial Consolidation / 55
4 Taxation and ConXicts / 79
5 Gendered Violence / 108
6 Verbal Violence and Radical Nationalism / 131
7 Labor, Wages, and Riots / 152
Conclusion: Violence and Political Culture / 171
notes / 187
bibliography / 205
index / 221
preface
The theme of this book is the ways that the imposition of colonial rule
and the British governance of Nigeria created conditions for violence from
the second half of the nineteenth century to the early 1950s. I deWne vio-
lence in terms of its most basic elements: the use of force to damage peo-
ple and objects; the use of force to maintain control; and the use of humil-
iating words to generate violent reactions. As the chapters in this book
show, violence is based on intentions, political calculations, and expected
consequences. In many ways, violence is thus connected with the larger
issues of power, resistance, terrorism, and nationalism. While the meaning
and outcome of violence are not necessarily the same from one era to
another or from one historical event to another, the goals are not diªcult
to analyze.1For instance, chapters 6 and 7 consider verbal warfare and rad-
ical unionism as acts of violence, precisely because angry Nigerians were
looking for ways to humiliate colonial oªcers and instigate protest and vio-
lence. They threatened violence and used words that suggested the possi-
bility of terrorism against the colonial state. In addition, the very conquest
of Nigerian groups was an exercise in humiliation, a domination made
possible by violence.
Violence has a political purpose: to dominate, to resist domination, to
create conditions for negotiation, and to target people and objects that sym-
bolize oppression. If one party—the colonialists—saw violence to achieve
conquest and ensure domination as “legitimate,” the other party—the
Nigerian groups—saw it as one aspect of resistance. Thus, to both sides, the
use of violence was legitimate, and each side painted the other as aggres-
sive. There were two orientations to the use and characterization of vio-
lence: visible violence, as in the case of attacks, wars, and injuries; and
ix
