The above posters make wonderful points. Essentially, it would be up to the African nations to decide if American and European ways are for them. Many changes must be made for African nations to have the same developments as America and Europe though.

I'm just guessing here, but I'm not sure that most African countries have a strong sense of "nationality." The history of many African countries is bound up in the colonial conditions that existed for so long.

Obviously, Africa has been exploited by the rest of the world. This has deeply affected its ability to form its own individiual national identities. These identities are necessary for the formation of a national purpose and will.

Yes, African countries can prosper, someday. It may take either a great deal of time, or some series of events that organizes its people into cohesive national groups.

Yes, but as post 2 says, it will take a long time. Another problem is that to grow, Africa needs investment, but often that investment carries with it certain conditions which allow foreign companies to exploit the continent's natural resources. This is the case with oil, the mining industry, and agriculture. Figuring out a way to balance the need for foreign investment with the equally pressing need for African's many nations to retain control of their own resources is a serious problem.

It is certainly possible.  But it will take a long time to catch up because Africa lacks the infrastructure and in many cases the resources needed to create fully modern economies.  Africa lacks good roads to carry goods and raw materials from place to place.  It lacks reliable electric supplies.  Perhaps most of all, many African countries lack political stability.  All of these things make it much more difficult to develop.