Would it be true to say that African Empires were "centuries behind"?

Browsing this older thread on r/history regarding Africa https://www.reddit.com/r/history/comments/10ppr9/why_does_africa_not_have_a_great_power/

You'll see that there is a user who argues that Africa has always been behind, that African empires were always several steps less advanced than their Eurasian counterparts, and that this is the reason for Africa's current lack of development. He/She also argues that political correctness prevents us from acknowledging that African empires were objectively lesser. What do historians think about this viewpoint? Would this be accurate? If so, why might this be?