The Gulf of Guinea (GoG) Region is defined as the sea area enclosed between the coastal states from Cote D’Ivoire to Angola. Countries in the Gulf include Cote D’Ivoire Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroun, Equatorial Guinea, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon and Angola. The area abounds in crude oil and fishery resources and is becoming increasingly attractive to the major powers of the world. It is assessed that the Region would in time equal or even surpass the Persian Gulf in crude oil production. It is also a highly unstable Region. Competition among the major powers for control of the Region’s resources could lead to Cold War style proxy wars and more insecurity in the Region. The recent fierce competition between Exxon Mobil of the USA and China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) through the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) to buy Cosmos Energy’s stock in Ghana’s Jubilee Oil Field attests to the likelihood of these proxy conflicts. There is the need for governments in the GoG Region to have the requisite information based on strategic maritime security analysis in addition to any economic and political dynamics to make sound decisions in such circumstances. It is important that such information originates from indigenous rather than external sources. Currently there is no active indigenous institute dedicated to strategic maritime research, advocacy and consultancy in the GoG. Continued reliance on information and assessments from agencies outside the region does not augur well for the interests of the countries in the Region. These information and assessments are mostly based on the interests of the source countries and agencies. The Gulf of Guinea Maritime Institute is designed to fill the void. It is a non-profit research organization incorporated in Ghana. The Institute is a ‘think-tank’ for maritime strategic thinkers, practitioners and allies to interact, share ideas and research into strategic maritime affairs affect.
