A world geography class I took in college in the early 90's drove this point home. The teacher was an Irishman, and he took care to offer as many politically correct answers as possible but it still didn't hide the fact that Africa is a mess.
A fair portion of the quarter dealt with African issues and development, and it was depressing. In spite of the abundance of natural resources still in the ground there, the natural problems (disease, physical geography) require people to have a greater than average abilities in organization, government, etc., i.e. - all of the things that aren't going on in Africa right now.
AIDS is just one of the problems that drag the entire continent deeper into the pit.
I propose the following statement: Africa's best days were the days of colonialism.