Nigeria, Aug. 4 -- Africa has had good leaders throughout its history who have been empire builders, thinkers, traders, kings, diplomats, and freedom fighters, who have established civilisations and made their impact on World history. Certainly, before the rise of the modern nation-state, Africans already had elaborated political, trading, and intellectual networks, extending from Timbuktu to Great Zimbabwe, from Benin to Axum. But even if the continent has such a rich history, there is one issue that haunts the discussions about the future of Africa: why has a continent blessed like this not managed to create institutions of prosperity and good governance?

The usual answers are certainly not entirely off base. Colonialism had a signific...