The release of white balloons around Berlin’s perimeter served as a vivid symbol for the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall -- a key moment as the Cold War came to an end. In Africa, perhaps unsurprisingly, there have not been commemorations to mark the Cold War’s conclusion nor its superpower proxy conflicts that served to disrupt the process and progress of African post-colonial development. The majority of African states now have 50 years of experience in self-governance, following the wave of independence occurring in the 1960s. (There are of course outliers such as the never-colonized Ethiopia and Africa’s newest state, South Sudan, now three years old.) Africans and their governments have spent the last 25 years forming their states amidst the considerable challenges and opportunities afforded by the globalization of commerce, communications, and technology rather than the polarized international dynamics of the Cold War. The trinity of governance, economic development, and security as interlocking elements required for nation-building has become a well-accepted formula during this period, to include the recognition that security is a pre-requisite for the other elements to flourish. All these elements are interdependent and must advance for success. A quick tour d’horizon indicates forward progress over the last half-century across each of these elements in much of Africa.