We must face the matter squarely that where there is something wrong in how we govern ourselves, it must be said that the fault is not in our stars but in ourselves that we are ill-governed.
Nelson Mandela, quoted in Martin Meredith The State of Africa
A few pages later Meredith lists some facts about the continent after 50 years of independence.
Most African countries have lower per capita incomes now than they had in 1980 or, in some cases, in 1960.
Its entire economic output is no more than $420 billion, just 1.3 per cent of the world GDP, less than a country like Mexico.
It is also the only region where life expectancy is falling.
All twenty-five countries that rank lowest in terms of human development are African.
Meredith does not offer solutions, just history, yet for the sake of my impoverished brothers and sisters here, I long for a Christian worldview and all the earthly benefits it brings to take deep root in a broad cross section of the society.
