The Chief of Army Staff, Nigerian Army, Lt.-Gen. TY Buratai, on Wednesday launched three books on critical thinking written by Colonel Charles Dalo Nengite, as part of efforts to enhance the capacity of Nigerian Army’s personnel in creativity and innovation in the application of critical thinking.

The three books are “Curriculum for Basic Critical Thinking and Judgement”, “Curriculum for Self-Awareness in Critical Thinking and Judgement” and “Curriculum for Advanced Critical Thinking and Judgement”, as well as “Curriculum for Self-Awareness in Critical Thinking and Judgement Workbook”.

The launching was part of the activities at the Chief of Army Staff’s Combined Second and Third Quarter Conference 2017 which took place from September 18 to 20, 2017 at the Army Headquarters Command Officers’ Mess Abuja.

While unveiling the books, Lt.-Gen. Buratai, who was represented by Major General Chris Jemitola, Chief of Policy and Plans (Army) at the occasion, said top military and management experts have rated Critical Thinking as the most important skill set for the complex strategic environment of the 21st century.

He said the books are invaluable to the cultivation of an improved process for decision making especially for future wars which are not necessarily won by those with superior weaponry but possibly by those who have the ability to be creative and innovative in the application of critical thinking.

The Chief of Army Staff further stated that it is now a fact that the adversaries being engaged by most militaries are becoming wiser and more unpredictable. Therefore, to be ahead of them, militaries must ensure they have an adaptive mindset that is realistic, open and unassuming, which no doubt requires the need to be aware of biases, logical fallacies and assumptions. Thus, he said, the concept of critical thinking is a necessity for future leaders of which the Nigerian Army is poised to be in the vanguard of the learning.

He commended the author for finding the time to write and published the books, which he described as innovative and enjoined officers take advantage of the knowledge contained in the books to improve their knowledge and capacity. He also challenged them to also write books for the benefit of the Nigerian Army and the society.

Reviewing the books earlier, Brig.-Gen. Charles Ofoche, who is also Director of Studies at the Army War College, Nigeria, said the world order is under constant threats and therefore some military strategists are of the opinion that military officers should have a change of mindset and mental model to successfully operate in the volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environment. He said that to achieve this, critical thinking is a valuable tool in this regard.

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