This book examines the role of violence in the §formation of postcolonial states with specific §reference to northern Nigeria. It argues that the §deployment of violence was in part a response to the §contestations over the form of the emergent §postcolonial state, the ultimate contest being that §over peasant production. The specific form this §state assumed depended on four interrelated social §forces: pre-colonial hegemonic structures, emergent §nationalist discourses/ organizations, state §activity, and the collective struggles of peasants. §By analysing the dynamic relationships between these §forces, the book explored the processes and patterns §through which conflicts over conceptions and §practices of the ''nation,'' ''membership,'' §and identity became inscribed in the definition, §character and form of the postcolonial state in §Nigeria. This book is an important contribution to §African historiography and a useful addition to the §understanding of the struggles over discourses and §practices of ''nationhood.'' It will be a useful §reading for students of politics and society in §Africa and beyond. ukryj opis