The problem I want to examine is how to characterize the relationship between ethnicity and federalism in Nigeria. I want to illustrate how the dynamics of ethnicity, by which I mean its manipulation as a political resource of conflict and accommodation by the political elite, has shaped the development of federalism in the country. In what follows I attempt to build on arguments I have advanced elsewhere (Jinadu, 1982; 1984; 1985; 1994), drawing on recent trends in Nigerian politics, and situating the discussion in historical and comparative perspective.