Africa doesn’t have it in them. China was a hierarchical feudal society for millennia, which fits perfectly into the transition to industrial policy, where you need large swaths of the population to obey long-term development goals.
The fact is, African leaders very quickly develop some form of god complex. If you look into the personal behavior of Gaddafi, our own dear Barre, Amin, etc., it happens over and over.
It’s because these men, where credit is due, developed their nation, before they fell to ruin, more than any prior leader. The problem is the belief that it only happened because of them.
China has more of the idea that it’s not the leader, but the culture and civilization of China that is great, and that a successful leader is not unique but simply helping fulfill the innate uniqueness of China. There are no good leaders, only bad leaders in modern china.
The latter is more conducive to long-term success.
Africa was one time a rich destination and considered a first world continent.
Don’t forget the former Empires:
The Mali
Abyssinia
Songhai Empire
Kingdom of Aksum
The kingdom of Kush
And the Somali sultanates
Europe ironically was considered a third world continent (excluding the mediterranean due their rich history).
Northern region of Europe was poor. But ironically done better when they started to colonise other countries that were doing far better than them.
We as the children of Africa was born at the worst time to see its fate. But hey, empires fall and rises.
Greek was considered the place of wisdom and education. It was also economically rich and sophisticated. Now it’s considered the bottom of the barrel of Europe. Anglo English speaking countries (UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) are doing far better than Latin speaking countries.
Maybe it the next century Africa may rise and Europe may fall. So don’t underestimate time.