Abstract
Colonialism brought about an unviable federal system of government where it is practiced in many African states, which impacts directly on socio-economic development of the continent. African states are a byproduct of the Industrial Revolution in Europe; thus, its political formations were fashioned according to the interest of the metropoles as well as the neo-colonial elites at the expense of the poor local indigenes. As a result of these, the continent is characterized by policy failures; authoritarianism; inappropriate state structures and other vices. Consequently, this paper intends to provide answers to: why has development challenges persistent in Africa when the continent prides itself with differently endowed resources and series of development strategies adopted; how can Africa be salvaged from this development quandary and policy failures; and what roles can Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) play, in this circumstance, to excuse the continent from these doldrums? The paper embraces qualitative and historical research methodology and adopts content analysis of secondary sources of data. This method involves the in-depth review of literature and scientific papers on the subject matter, and making judgemental inference therefrom. Evidence from the review indicates that real federation and sustainable economic development for global competitiveness can only be achieved through sincerity, trust and political dedication on the part of the leaders, people and respective states. It also requires all stakeholders' readiness to redirect all the regions' resources leveraging on effective channelization of indigenous knowledge (IK) towards the development of STI driven by effective policy formulation and implementation.