"1992 They may have opened up, but the old power structures still remained in place."

Chris- this is, in a nutshell, the essence of the book Why Nations Fail. When applied to formerly colonial nations, when western powers were in charge they were extractive and didn't foster a democratic culture. So when the west exited, they left behind a power structure of extraction and since that is the only model the locals knew, some warlord or other took the reins and operated the same way towards their own people.