Africans are not stupid. And organising a working state is difficult. Most of Africa has failed to do so, as has most of Europe at many points in its history.

What we are seeing in Africa is not an inherent inferiority of the location or the people but the same dark ages that many other continents were confronted with at other times.

I believe the best solution for Africa is to allow other countries to organise Africa's economy. But for this to work, those other countries must profit from it. Otherwise the policies made to help Africa will not be efficient because they won't be made with profit in mind but with status in mind. And we cannot afford another 40 years of empty gestures towards African countries.

I propose a system in which African countries can offer themselves as colonies to some non-African country of their choice. Participating non-African countries will then get to rule the candidate country as a colony for ten years. The only obligation the ruling country will have is not to violate human rights and to enforce laws that protect those human rights. Everything else, resources, cheap labour, is up for grabs.

Most of Africa is extremely rich in natural resources and incapable of using them. Instead corrupt rulers sell concessions to non-African countries below market price and in exchange for money then used to oppress the native population by native dictators under ultimate foreign control. Official imperialism could replace this system without affecting the native population negatively (they still wouldn't see the wealth of those natural resources) but also without the need to support native tyrants, since the imperialist ruler wouldn't need a local ally who can keep the population under control.

The ruling country will then proceed to make the most of the colony. Cheap labour is better when it is somewhat educated and building schools is not very expensive. A basic healthcare system will have to be set up to avoid nasty diseases from affecting too many people. That is not expensive either. Both will be an improvement over the current situation. The ruling country will also be able to organise a non-corrupt police force.

After ten years, the colony gets to vote again and to decide whether it wants to remain a colony or become fully independent again. If it votes for independence, foreign rule will end within a year and foreign troops and police, in as much as the former co,ony doesn't want to keep them, will have to withdraw within two. All contracts between the colonial government and private companies will also end.

If, however, the colony votes for a continuation of colonial status, the ruling country has to accept the definition and continue ruling. It will have no choice and cannot give up the colony or realse it into independence without approval by the vote.

Before year 1: The client country votes to become a colony of mother country. The mother country votes whether it wants to accept the colony.

Year 10: The colony votes to become independent, in which case the mother country loses the colony within one year, or votes to remain a colony, in which case the mother country cannot release the colony.

In this second ten-year period, some things will change. The master country is now obligated to allow some home rule. Such home rule must be democratic and cannot be sovereignty or even autonomy. To put it in American terms, in the first ten years the colony will be an unorganised unincorporated territory and will have to become an organised unincorporated territory now. The inhabitants of the colony, except those who moved there from the mother country, will not have citizenship or nationality of the mother country.

After this second ten-year period there will be another vote. If either country now votes against the association, the colony will become independent under the same terms as it would have been after the first ten-year period, except that it must keep the government system created by the mother country. If both countries vote for continuation, the association continues under the same terms as in the second ten-year period.

Year 20: The colony votes to become independent, in which case the mother country loses the colony within one year, or again votes to remain a colony, in which case the mother country can release the colony if it doesn't want to keep the colony.

After another ten years, in year 30 of the association, there will be another vote. This time, if both countries vote for continuation, the colony will have to be incorporated and its citizens will have the option of becoming citizens of the mother country. The colony will essentially be annexed by the mother country.

Year 30: The territory votes to become independent, in which case the mother country loses the territory within one year, or again votes to remain a territory of the mother country, in which case the mother country can release the territory if it doesn't want to keep it but will have to annex the territory and grant citizenship if it wants to keep it.

After year 30, there will be one more ten-year period, in which the former colony remains an incorporated (full rights for all citizens) and organised (local government) territory of the mother country. Populations can now mix freely (with the caveat that citizens living in the territory will not have representation in the mother country's parliament).

At the end of this fourth ten-year period there will be one more vote, in the former colony only, between independence or remaining with the mother country. If the territory votes for independence, citizens have one year to decide whether they want to move back to their original country (but they cannot any more choose which country they want to live in) and after that time the two countries split up and the united citizenship will become two citizenships again. If the territory votes to remain part of the mother country, the mother country will have ten years to extend all voting and representation privileges to the territory. In the case of federal countries the territory would have to become a state, otherwise it will somehow have to be made part of the single province a country is made of.

Year 40: The territory votes to become independent, in which case the mother country loses the territory within one year, or again votes to remain a territory of the mother country, obligating the mother country to integrate the territory fully into the mother country.

Note that if the mother country in year 30 decides it wants to keep the colony, it has to annex it and can still lose it after another ten years.