In an era when nations are increasingly sensitive about how they are portrayed abroad, many citizens are often reminded to “speak well” of their country and not highlight the negatives. Yet, every day, the news headlines published within the country itself travel far beyond its borders, shaping global perception far more powerfully than any citizen’s remark on social media ever could. This is more applicable to African countries especially in today’s globalisation.

Using headlines from a news relevant online publications showed.

• A quick glance through recent national reports in Africa’s most populous nation and where one in five blacks in the world comes from, paints a sobering picture. Stories range from the horrific to the deeply troubling. A runaway killer who beheaded a woman in Anambra was recently captured; drug enforcement agents dismantled cocaine cartels behind multiple UK-bound shipments; bandits killed a vigilante leader and abducted villagers in a State; and seventeen kidnapped passengers remain missing after ten days on a river journey. These are not isolated incidents; they are reflections of a growing culture of insecurity and disregard for human life.

Further down the list are reports of internal corruption and scandal. A serving minister confessed to certificate forgery, and a probe in a state uncovered the alleged diversion of four billion naira meant for public development. The ripple effect of such stories is immense. When those in public office are caught falsifying credentials, it does not only discredit the individual, it undermines the credibility of every honest citizen who must later present qualifications abroad. In this way, one official’s deceit can stain an entire nation’s reputation far more than any critical statement from the diaspora could.

Other reports expose deep structural and social crises. Cholera outbreaks in state-wide have taken nearly two hundred lives, twenty-four million children remain out of school, and citizens petition leaders over incessant killings in rural communities. Each headline whispers – or sometimes shouts – of systemic failure, leadership gaps, and human suffering. Together they form a portrait not easily erased by patriotic slogans.

Yet amid the bleakness are glimpses of progress and resilience: Edo State’s absorption of thousands of volunteer teachers, environmental protection orders in Imo, the unlocking of climate finance, and Nigeria’s representation at the Africa Energy Week. These, too, form part of the national narrative, though they are often overshadowed by the intensity of crime and scandal.

The truth is that the world does not form its opinions based on what ordinary Nigerians in London, Toronto, or New York say about their country. It forms them from what is published daily within our countries, itself on government portals, local media, and international wire services. Each domestic headline becomes an international impression. A forged certificate in Abuja echoes in embassies abroad; a kidnapping in Kebbi shakes trust in Nigeria’s security assurances; a healthcare breaking down in Southern Africa raises questions about governance and care for human life among others.

In the end, protecting a nation’s image begins at home, not by silencing critics or instructing the diaspora to “speak positively,” but by ensuring that leadership, justice, and transparency leave no room for stories that humiliate or endanger the country’s standing. For when the news from within grows darker, no amount of patriotic messaging abroad can illuminate it.

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