In 2011, President Paul Kagame engaged in a Twitter exchange with UK journalist Ian Birrell, highlighting the essential role of critical thinking in African leadership and governance. He criticised Western journalists for their self-righteousness and lack of contextual understanding in their assessments of Africa.
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President Kagame proved that African leaders have to critically watch out for guilt-tripping and misdirection by Western journalists that distract from the continent’s development trajectory. In a related development, the president held a retreat with government officials in March, addressing concerns over declining public service quality.
To remedy this situation, the necessity for critical thinking among civil servants becomes inevitable. Critical thinking is a vital skill for questioning biases and improving reasoning. Mastery of this skill facilitates strategic thinking and fosters innovation, which is crucial for Rwanda’s development, laying a foundation for creative efficiency. Both global and local leadership should adopt philosophical logic to improve strategic vision and effectively implement government projects.
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However, one of the main challenges is that each one of us carries a set of beliefs and opinions that might interfere with our willingness to alter these beliefs, even when faced with concrete evidence that refutes them. Generally, everyone has an opinion about most things, but of course, these opinions can be founded on unreliable and invalid information.
Critical thinking is a huge area that involves sub-skills like truth-seeking, evaluation, and situational awareness.
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President Kagame emphasises the importance of people-centred initiatives for leaders and public servants, identifying inaction as a key challenge in mid-level leadership. This can only be overcome through the practice of high-level cognitive ability that will help confront cognitive biases and identify genuine challenges through the enhancement of judgment and quality of decisions. This high-level thinking is crucial in education as it promotes independent thought, informed decision-making, and effective problem-solving.
It prepares students to be active members of society by encouraging them to generate knowledge rather than simply consume information.
This skill allows them to evaluate ideas and theories, supporting independent decision-making and participation in democracies, and fostering economic innovation. Thinking critically is a vital skill for decision-making and problem-solving, particularly in an age of overwhelming information. It enhances social awareness, enabling learners to identify manipulation and misinformation. Moreover, progressing in Africa’s decolonisation of the mind requires understanding the “WHY”, not just the “HOW”.
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African leaders and public or private servants must shift their focus from the processes of doing things to understanding the reasons behind those processes to avoid stagnation in development. There is a need to move away from a sponge-type of thinking to a panning for gold-type of thinking, where the mental activity is challenged to inspect, examine and ask critical questions to contemplate whether the information is reliable or factual.
Critical thinking empowers individuals to solve complex problems confidently and make better decisions by evaluating options objectively. It fosters innovation by challenging assumptions and generating creative solutions.
Developing critical thinking skills requires time and effort, enhancing effectiveness in management and teamwork. Inquiry-based learning is essential across disciplines; while some individuals may naturally possess critical thinking abilities, everyone can learn to think critically.
Leaders should be guided by reason and guarded by morals and overcome emotions. The urgency for African leaders to convene and discuss solutions and not problems emphasises the need for a critical mass of thinkers, supported by short courses in critical thinking, as the way forward.
The writer is an experienced heritage professional with a background in philosophy and history.