@Obi-K
You have a point. Checkout an excerpt from his speech in Ghana:
'It is easy to point fingers,and to pin the blame for these problems on others. Yes,a colonial map that made little sense bred conflict,and the West has often approached Africa as a patron,rather than a partner. But the West is not responsible for the destruction of the Zimbabwean economy over the last decade,or wars in which children are enlisted as combatants. In my father’s life,it was partly tribalism and patronage in an independent Kenya that for a long stretch derailed his career,and we know that this kind of corruption is a daily fact of life for far too many.'
Without making any excuses for our failures as a continent,i think Obama got his history completely wrong here. History cannot erase the contribution US made to the tragedy that is Angola,Liberia and Sierra Leone. Remember Mobutu in Zaire, America's key ally in Africa during the cold war? America clearly had a role to play.
Lets face it. If it is in America's interests to see,hear and speak no evil,that is exactly what they will do. However,i accept what he eventually said:
'..Africa’s future is up to Africans'