African liberation failed by preserving colonial structures under inept leadership

Evidence

African liberation has not lived up to its promise of undoing colonial tyranny and underdevelopment for two interrelated reasons. First, most postcolonial regimes maintain, often reproduce, and sometimes make worse the tyrannical politicaleconomic structures imperial regimes left behind. Second, reforming inherited conditions is a daunting task that requires African leadership of extraordinary quality and including the sagacity and humility to distinguish between personal political ambitions and the enduring interests of their people. — Abdi Ismail Samatar, Africa’s First Democrats, 1097