CHAPTER ONE  INTRODUCTION 1.1      Background information

 The positive perception of a country‟s image is an important standard for judging her standing in the international community. A good image translates to respect, influence and prestige. To ensure that this respect is accorded to any country, governments initiate policies that would ensure economic growth, reduction in unemployment and improvement in the quality of life of the citizens.  While, a bad or negative perception of a country‟s image indicates that such a country lacks respect, influence and prestige in the international community.   The factors that can determine a nation‟s image (for good or bad) can be both internal and external. Internally, a succession of regimes of bad policies and practice can lead to this. Externally, it could be through participation in foreign military and humanitarian missions (Egwemi, 2010; Adeleye, 2009).  An image problem usually occurs when there are both internal and external factors that sway the pendulum towards a bad/negative image. Whatever the source of an image problem.  Many countries would to do all that is possible   to overcome such an image. 

 In Nigeria, since the inception of the present democratic rule in 1999, the country had been struggling with image problems. These problems range from corruption in high places like bribing of highly placed officials before one can secure a job, start a business and run it peacefully, lack of transparency, fraud, electoral manipulations, political assassination and others.  This situation has been so aggravated by the activities of Nigerians who have taken to crime such as cyber crime, 419 and these people operate in all the sectors of the country‟s economy.  This situation is captured by Ishiekwene (2004:1) when he notes that:

Those of us living in the western world, Europe and America in particularly, would testify to the humiliation and embarrassment suffered daily in the hands of bankers, potential employers and even ordinary neighbors because they have Nigeria links. And it is not only the whites that stigmatize Nigerians, even Africans, including Ghanaians, Cameroonians, South Africans , Zimbabweans  and a host of our  surrounding neighbors in west African look on Nigerians as crooks, liars, thieves, drug pushers, 419 – kidnappers, assassins and social  miscreants of various shades. 

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