Ethnicity nexus in federalism and the [mis]management of diversity in Africa

Studies on the promise that federalism holds in terms of constituting political order by way of devolutionary mechanism in a plural society and the seemingly elusive management of diversity in African federal states are in the legions. However, scanty attention has been devoted to the ethnicity cog constraining the management of diversity in spite of the promising roles of federalism in the federal states of Africa. The article examines the dominant political and socio-cultural realities that shape the management of diversity in African federal states. Four mutually reinforcing factors— uncritical state-making, political entrepreneurship and elitist power plays, ethno-regional nationalisms, and prebendal politics— undermining federal practices and, ultimately, exacerbating the management of diversity are reported. The article also considers relevant empiricism and critical conceptual questions that emerge from ethnicity in Africa. Empirical illustrations are restricted to Nigeria and Ethiopia: Africa’s appreciably largest federations.