The author argues that collective violence is an organisational phenomenon: that it is a product of interaction between contenders for power in their environment; that collective violence is an outgrowth or extension of the struggle for political power. Examination of three rebellions – the Sabukki Rebellion in Bussa in 1915; the rebellion in the Eastern Provinces known as the Women’s War; the 1958 riots in Ibadan and its environs – shows that the rebels rose to challenge the structure which governed their social, economic and political life. They rebelled against the excesses of the authorities, against the denial of access in the decision-making process, against the high-handedness, victimisation and oppression of the local authority functionaries, against the loss (feared loss) of their political and economic identities, against poor and inefficient delegation of power. Ref., notes, figures.
