One of the biggest problems in Africa is warfare

[KelseyMN121]

Generally speaking, I think Africa's tribes (back in the day) may have been very rich. (I don't actually know.) They were broken up by different countries during Europe's big "colonialization period", many of their people sold as slaves or killed, and the rest treated as ignorant savages. I would call almost all of Africa's people "oppressed" until now or very recently. (I avoid using oppressed very often, because in many cases it's use is unwarranted.) Each country (try to remember that Africa, like everywhere else, is a collage of different peoples and countries who may have little in common other than sharing a continent) has it's own problems.
One of the biggest problems though is warfare. The constant state of war in many countries means that the people are too busy fighting to get educated. Anything they gain through work may be taken away at the shift of a political group. Most importantly, many countries have not united enough to provide themselves the infrastructure needed to compete in a global economy.
Also, these countries DO have their own arts and accomplishments. They are simply not often in European languages because the artists are often trying to promote national identities separate from Europe. Just because you do not know of any African poets, songs, books, or films, doesn't mean they do not exist.