By Tereza Jeremiah Chuei
The Minister of Federal Affairs Lasuba L. Wango told youth to embrace federal system of governance, citing that it would be life changing for them in terms of employment.
In an exclusive interview with No.1 Citizen Daily Newspaper, Wango said that, federal system is where an individual can exercise his/her freedom.
“I want people to embrace federal system of governance to grow very fast and I want the youth particularly to take that very, very strong, youth should embrace federal system of governance, because its where you exercise your freedom,
“Wherever you can be able to use your talent appropriately wherever you are, not necessary converging in our cities, where you have all of you competing in one Job and all that, youth must take this as an advantage, of your age to know that it is a system that ensures we all co-exist in this country smoothly,” Wango said.
However, he also said federalism combines two fundamental ideas of governance, citing that “they are the self-rule, ‘powers exercised within each state’ while the second can be ‘shared rule’ in the form of constitutional powers exercised through the framework of the central/federal government”.
According to the summary report by the Ministry of Federal Affairs, historically, federal countries have emerged through two principal processes.
Firstly, formerly independent states, usually with experience of working together in a confederation, voluntarily decide to abandon their separate statehood and form a federation in a single state (a process called aggregation or coming together).
The report added that the United States, Switzerland among others were formed through this process, Coming-together federation are primarily aimed at enhancing a common economy and defense while maintaining autonomy.
While in modern times, federations are created through a process of ‘disaggregation’ or holding-together of formerly unitary countries, most federation including Ethiopia, Nigeria and South Africa are formed through this process.
Federalism by disaggregation occurs for distinct but inter-related practical and principled considerations.
However, the reports furthered that the most common reason countries become federal is to manage conflict particularly arising out of diversity through a constitutionalized power-sharing scheme.
It gives different territorial communities more autonomy and provides more positions of autonomous power that various conflicting elites can ascend to.
The other reason is enhancing democracy so that autonomous states can serve as Laboratories of democracy and governance whereby they experience with novel ideas and practices while limiting potential negative consequences of untested tools.
While, federalism constitutionally enables political participation at various levels, which ensures better accountability and efficiency.
Federalism also allows minorities at state level, and therefore upgrades the potential problem of the domination of the majority.