Original thinking, research contribute
to human knowledge
We need to turn knowledge into the service of all global African-adapted
from Dr. James Kwegir Aggrey.
Introduction
Established in 1992, the Pan African Strategic and Policy Research
Group (PANAFSTRAG), formerly known as the African Strategic and
Peace Research Group is an independent, non-governmental,
action-oriented advocacy and consultancy research organization outfitted
for analyzing strategic and human security problems in Africa and the
Diaspora. Pan-AFSTRAG takes into consideration the political, economic,
military, technological and socio-cultural conditions concerning
Africans and its Descendants worldwide.
PanAFSTRAG is the consequence of a challenge thrown by former U.S.
President Jimmy Carter during his opening address at the
African-Soviet-US Cooperation-Study in Regional Conflicts/Diplomatic
Initiatives Conference, held October 29, 1991 at the Nigerian
Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Lagos. In that address, he
wondered why active and former African leaders, academics, diplomats,
military, international civil servants and public officers were not
interested in creating non-governmental institutions:
1.
To carry
out action-oriented research and studies on wider African human security
problems.
2.
To
implement and offer solutions to assisting governance in solving their
own problems.
President
Carter urged Africans to take leadership in solving their own problems.
At the end of the conference, a group of West African diplomats,
military and public officers and academics met in Lagos and Minna
respectively to deliberate on this challenge. After a series of
discussions and visits to USA and the then USSR by Mrs. Margaret Vogt,
then Coordinator, an African Center for Conflict Resolution was to be
created in Lagos initially in the same location but independent of the
NIIA. This did not materialize because of the breakup of the Soviet
Union. In its place, the same group including those from outside Nigeria
created AFSTRAG. |
|