Why aren’t there more federal governments in Africa?

Africa Daily

Federalism in Africa is the topic of today’s episode.

Depending on how you define the term, there are only around six countries in Africa that use the federal model, with Nigeria and Ethiopia among them.

But what is federalism and what does it look like in practice? How does it function and differ from a system where power is centralised under one authority?

Mpho Lakaje has been looking into all of this and examining whether this is a form of government that suits Africa.

He is in conversation with Dr Bizuneh Yimenu, a teaching fellow at Birmingham University in the UK.

He has also been talking to Dr Dele Babalola, a senior lecturer in International Relations at Canterbury Christ Church University in the UK and author of `The political economy of Federalism in Nigeria`.