I agree Jim that the recent history of colonial Africa is woeful. But I rather meant that to this day there are elected Heads of State who are incorrigibly corrupt. It's a repeated pattern of election, corruption, rebellion, deposition, newly-elected 'reformer', corruption again and so on. And while this toxic cycle is repeated, the population suffers in dire poverty, disruption of already fragile services and even civil war. (eg Gbagbo in Ivory Coast)
Although the colonials helped themselves to resources, at least the countries may have been better organised and run. They kept the lid on things (in their own interests of course) and they built modern infrastructures such as transport, sanitation, water supply, communications, hospitals and schools etc. I know this is so in the case of the French in Ivory Coast.