If NATO goes in and solves the crisis in Darfur, when the next one comes along Africa's leaders will just sit back.

In the West, the basic economic and social unit is the individual; in Africa, it is the extended family or the collective.

The solutions to Africa's problems lie in Africa, not in Live Aid concerts.

To be sure, dictators are crafty, evil geniuses with awesome firepower at their disposal. They are also brutally efficient at intimidation, terrorism, and mass slaughter. However, a force is able to dominate because the counterforce is either nonexistent or weak.

Africa is poor because she is not free.

There's a belief that since Africa got a raw deal from the colonial West, then the Chinese must be Africa's best friend. But the evidence doesn't show that, and the main criticism is that they are building infrastructure in exchange for Africa's resources in deals that are structured to favor China.

The richest persons in Africa are heads of state, governors and ministers. So every 'educated' African who wants to be rich - and there is nothing wrong with wanting to be rich - heads straight into government or politics.