Léopold Sédar Senghor, 77, the former President of Senegal (1960-80), is a poet, a philosopher and one of Africa's most respected elder statesmen. He is among the few Africans ever nominated for a Nobel Prize, and last year was elected to the prestigious French Academy for his contributions to politics and literature. Senghor is also a member of an even more exclusive group: he is one of three African leaders who have relinquished power voluntarily.* In an interview with TIME Correspondent John Borrell in Dakar, he discussed Africa's past and how it has shaped the present.
On Independence. In the 1950s and...