Journal of Teaching and Teacher Education ISSN (2210-1578) J. Tea. Tea. Edu. 4, No. 1 (Jan-2016) E-mail address:akinaboluwodi@gmail.com http://journals.uob.edu.bh Imperative of Teaching Critical Thinking in Higher Institutions in Nigeria Akinjide Aboluwodi Department of Arts Education, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State, Nigeria Received 16 July 2015, Revised 16 Oct. 2015, Accepted 09 Nov. 2015, Published 01 Jan. 2016 Abstract: There is an urgent need for a new orientation to teaching and learning approaches in higher institutions in Nigeria. The absence of critical approach to teaching in these institutions in Nigeria, in spite of the teaching of Philosophy and Logic, leaves students to rely more on how much of the facts learnt can be memorised. Students lack the ability to deploy the knowledge acquired in this process to simple life situations, hence the need for a review of the content and the approach adopted in teaching the course, Philosophy and Logic, meant to teach students how to think critically. The need for a paradigm shift is required especially from the teaching of “what to think” to placing an emphasis on “how to think” which certainly provides an alternative learnin g approach to students in higher institutions in Nigeria. Keywords: philosophy and logic, critical thinking, paradigm shift, learning approach, critical thinking abilities and dispositions. 1. INTRODUCTION The need to develop critical thinking abilities and dispositions in individuals to enable them make a success of their academic work and reflect critically on their life situations must have informed the introduction of a General studies course, namely, Philosophy and Logic, in the curriculum of universities in Nigeria. Primarily, the course is designed for undergraduate students and it is meant to expose them to some elements of philosophy and logic. The content of what is taught and the techniques of teaching this content vary from one university to the other. However, the objective is the same, namely, the development of dispositions and critical thinking abilities in students. The different efforts intended to initiate students into the culture of critical thinking through the teaching of philosophy and logic had yielded no reasonable results. In view of this challenge, there is need for a review of the content of and approach to what is being taught to give room for critical thinking abilities and dispositions. This is to enable students use their thinking abilities to act in a manner that will enable them to apply their reasoning to basic life situations. 2. COLONIAL AND POST-COLONIAL EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM The system of education which limits the cultivation of critical thinking habits can be traced to the pre- colonial and post-colonial education policies in Nigeria. The first Christian missionaries came to Nigeria through Badagry in 1942; a voyage that ushered in western education. The missionaries‟ inability to communicate effectively with the natives, and the desire for the training of teacher-catechists, lay-readers and interpreters led to an early thought on the need for the establishment of schools. Subsequently, the British colonial administration began to show interest in education. First, its interest was to assist the missions in their efforts to run their schools, and second there was the need to train clerks, and technicians for the services of the imperial government (Sulaiman, 2012). In this regard, the educational policy of the government which was not driven by the demands of the society, led to the belief that the British government did not have a clearly defined policy on education in Nigeria (Sulaiman, 2012). Thus, Nigerians grew up with the colonial education experience and the inherent values in it. Educational delivery was substandard during this period, an experience which informed Sulaiman‟s submission that “curricular of schools during the colonial era [were] not in balance with the needs and aspirations