Many of those landing strips are maintained by NGOs. They are essential due to the roads being impassable during wet season. However, I am sure if arms dealers want access to poor and remote villages in the middle of nowhere then they could use them too......or just use a helicopter of course.
Ever heard the adage that the most dangerous part of any flight is the drive to the airport? Well, yeah in that sense Africa is a very dangerous region to fly.
My best answer to the OP is not to generalize too much about an entire continent but try to go country by country. However, in many of the poorer countries then lack of good regulatory bodies, a means of enforcement of regulations, corruption, war, weather, terrain and lack of infrastructure and properly trained ATC are a few of the hazards which contribute to the danger.
I agree with max BTW. May as well have realistic goals. If you fly in an inherently dangerous region, the onus is on you to find ways of mitigating the risks to an acceptable level.