But perhaps nowhere on the globe is in more need of sound, trustworthy institutions and good governance than the African continent. When he was prime minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair reminded us that Africa was a scar on the world’s conscience. Colonialism left a terrible inheritance. No other continent has so many artificial political boundaries. Colonizers often claimed they were bringing civilization, but bayonets, bullets, booze and the Bible did untold damage. When the European empires retreated, they left behind a trail of devastation. (At the time of Angola’s independence, for example, there were only 68 black high school student in the whole country. ) But it wasn’t always so.