The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Drivers

  • Lagos Drivers Institute for only professionals

    Lagos State government has refuted the claim that all drivers operating in the state should attend the Lagos State Drivers Institute (LASDRI).

    A statement released by the Ministry of Transportation said: “Section 23 of the Lagos State Drivers Institute Law of 2007 made it mandatory for all professional drivers operating in the state, that is, those whose means of livelihood is driving either individual, private or corporate to undergo a re-training and re-certification exercise at the institute yearly and stipulates penalty for both drivers and employers who violate provision of the Law.

    “Since its establishment in 2007, the state government has been sensitising professional drivers to this important safety measure to curb the menace on our roads, reduce accident and loss of lives of innocent people who could contribute meaningfully to the development of the state and the nation in general.

    “It will interest you to know that professional drivers with eye defects, drive without knowing of such eye problem. Through the Lagos State Drivers Institute (LASDRI) re-training and re-certification programme, such drivers are detected and appropriate medical examination and treatment are recommended.

    “For the avoidance of doubt, the state government is ready to start enforcing the provisions of this Law and therefore urges all affected persons and corporate organisations to comply so as not to be guilty of contravention.”

  • My driver’s licence woes at Ogun Joint Tax Board

    Sir: I applied for the renewal of my National Driver’s Licence on Tuesday, June 4, at the Okemosan office of the Joint Tax Board, Abeokuta, Ogun State. Upon the payment of the required sum of N6350, I was instantly issued with a computer generated acknowledgement slip which stands as substitute for a receipt for the transaction. It’s however annoying as it is baffling that up till now I have not been able to have my image captured and without which it would be impossible to have the actual license.

    I must acknowledge though that earlier on, I had applied for the reissue of my car number plate which was promptly processed and got within 24 hours. But in the case of the driver’s license, it is a different ball game altogether.

    I have been visiting the board every week hoping that luck would smile on me one of these days. But at every turn, I have always met with a brick wall. What I later discovered is that I’m not alone in the lurch; there are hundreds, if not thousands of other applicants who have found themselves in this quagmire.

    From the discreet enquiry I made, I understand that there is just one camera in use and this device works erratically. It got to a point that it broke down completely and out of use for a period of time. As it is now, it would seem like the camera can no longer cope with the loads of work at it’s disposal and has again been working in fits and starts even after its repair.

    Some questions applicants have been asking and which are begging for answers are :Why is that only one camera is in use in spite of the huge revenue generated? Why will innocent people be subjected to untold abuse and hardship simply because one is acquiring a driver’s license? Is it a sin on the part of applicants to have complied with this obligation to own a license?

    My appeal therefore is that the authorities concerned both the state government and the Federal Road Safety Commission should do something urgently to reverse this ugly and avoidable situation.

     

    •Olu Ajayi,

    Abeokuta.

  • Institute graduates 250 drivers

    The Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (NITT) in Zaria, Kaduna State has graduated the first batch of 250 drivers under the Kano State Government luxury taxi drivers’ training scheme.

    In a statement by Mr Paul Mshelizah, Chief Public Relations Officer, NITT, the institute said it held a two-week training programme on defensive driving, operations and entrepreneurship management of road transport for the drivers.

    During the training, NCE, OND, HND, B.SC and postgraduate certificate holders were trained on how to operate the Kano State luxury taxi service.

    It said the training was designed to equip the participants with skills in safety and security of business operations as lives and property were important part of business, particularly in the transport sector.

    It said the training was designed to update the drivers’ knowledge on new techniques of basic maintenance of vehicles, driving laws and traffic regulations as well as emerging technologies in vehicle and infrastructure design.

    According to the statement, the target for the training is 500 drivers.

    It said the institution was committed to collaborating with the government and private organisations in transport and logistics training programmes.

    It said the training and involvement of mature, educated and disciplined youths in the transport system would sanitise the sector.

    The institute lauded Gov. Rabiu Kwankwaso for initiating the programme aimed at providing jobs for the teeming youths of Kano State and building a foundation for lasting wealth for the beneficiaries and the citizens.

    It urged other state governments to emulate the work of the Kano State government.

     

  • Reps condemn murder of Nigerian cab drivers

    Reps condemn murder of Nigerian cab drivers

    The House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora Affairs has condemned the killing of two Nigerian cab drivers in Washington DC and New York, the United States (US).

    Its Chairman, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, noted that both Nigerians were killed within two weeks.

    According to her, after a Nigerian cab driver, Solomon James Okoro, was shot dead in Washington DC by armed robbers, another one was killed in Brooklyn, New York.

    “It was reported that 54-year-old Orji Ama Uro, from Ekoli Edda, Ebonyi State, was brutally stabbed in the eye with an umbrella after dropping off two people, a man and a woman, in Brooklyn, around 5pm on Thursday, June 13. The point of the umbrella pierced Ama Uro’s brain. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead,” the lawmaker said in a statement yesterday in Abuja.

    She added: “The death of these two Nigerians, who are out to earn their daily bread, is really heart-rendering, worrisome and pathetic. It is barbaric, inhuman and condemnable in all ramifications.”

    Dabiri-Erewa commiserated with to the families of Mr Okoro and Mr Uro.

    She said: “Our concern, after the death, is the survival of the children. We extend our condolences to friends and families who have been thrown into mourning.”

    The lawmaker representing Ikorodu, Lagos State, urged American security agencies to fish out the perpetrators of “these senseless killings and to look deep into them” because such killings have “become a recurring decimal”.

  • Mini-bus owners, drivers protest at National Assembly

    Scores of mini-bus owners and drivers yesterday staged a protest at the National Assembly over the proposed stoppage of their buses in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) metropolis.

    The FCT Transport Secretariat had expressed the intention restrict the operations of the mini-buses to the satellite towns.

    The new policy, which was initially thought to have been postphoned indefinitely, is to become effective from June 3.

    But the protesters, under the aegis of the Owners and Drivers of Mini-Buses Association in the FCT, described the new policy as an “obnoxious policy on transport” and that it is “not mass-friendly.”

    The association added: “About 62,000 drivers and conductors will be denied of their daily bread as a result of this inhuman government arrangement.”

    The protesters carried various placards bearing various inscriptions, such as: “We are Nigerians, give us our right to work please”; “We are not in military regime; we are in democracy, hear our cry”; “We’re part of the organised labour, we are not touts. Live and let live”; “SOS, SOS, save our jobs, don’t throw us into starvation and death. Save our jobs”; “Nass save our families.”

    Others read: “We are legitimate drivers and conductors, NASS stop this impending slavery”; “Is government afraid of competition? Live and let live”; “Create jobs not joblessness.”

    A member of the association, Prince Paul Omeire, explained that the objective of the protest was to make the National Assembly appeal to the FCT Transport Secretariat to change the policy.

    Omeire said: “We are member of the Owners and Drivers’ Association and we operate the town service. We own the buses and drive them. Our problem is with the Transport Secretariat of the FCT.

    “The new transport policy is that we should stop operation in the city on June 3. This means thousands of drivers and conductors as well as their families and other extension will suffer. We create jobs and we don’t know why they want to create joblessness.”

    On why they were protesting at the National Assembly, the union spokesman said: “We are here to see our people at the National Assembly and see if we can get the FCT Transport Secretariat to change the policy.”

     

  • One injured as drivers block Onitsha-Enugu road

    •Commuters stranded
    •Govt: problem to be resolved soon

    For more than five hours yesterday, the Onitsha-Enugu Expressway was blocked with buses by drivers, who protested multiple taxation by the Anambra State Government.

    But for the intervention of the police which deployed over 100 men in the area, the situation would have been disastrous.

    Over 1,000 drivers blocked the road, leaving Enugu and Onitsha- bound commuters stranded.

    There was no movement between 8.30am and 2pm as the drivers engaged emblem officials in a shouting match. One of the drivers was beaten up by the revenue agents.

    Following the maltreatment of their colleague, the drivers mobilised and chased away the revenue agents.

    The police arrested the revenue collector, who allegedly injured the victim.

    The Commissioner for Transport, Dr Chike Ohamobi, told reporters that the problem would be resolved.

    The drivers claimed that they paid more than N1, 000 for various emblems daily.

    They said they were told to paint their vehicles in the state’s colour.

    The Secretary of the Union of Enugu-Onitsha Route Welfare Association (DEORWA), Ndubuisi Nwigwe, said the situation had become unbearable, adding that it was only in Anambra that they pay such levies.

    The victim, Ikechukwu Nwoye, said the luggage of his passengers was confiscated by the revenue collectors and his vehicle impounded.

    The commissioner said the drivers were misled by some persons, adding that it was only the state that has what he called “consolidated emblem” for the Southeast.

    The commissioner said the consolidated revenue costs only N5,500 per annum, which is sold in local governments.

    The registration of inter state buses is pegged at N4,000.

    He said: “Once you pay this money, there won’t be any problem; but some of them do not pay.

    “We told them to brand their vehicles for security reason; branding of commercial vehicles, motorcycles have been going on in this state.

    “It began based on the resolution of the House of Assembly. This situation is embarrassing, but we are going dialogue with them, when the contractor handing the exercise returns from Abuja. They should be patient.”

     

  • Pentascope: Ex-MDs, union, others blame El-Rufai for NITEL collapse

    Pentascope: Ex-MDs, union, others blame El-Rufai for NITEL collapse

    Former chief executives, union and retirees of the defunct Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) yesterday faulted the attempt by former Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Mallam Nasir El-Rufa’i, to absolve himself of blame for the destruction of the national telecommunications company.

    They urged the Federal Government to hold the former Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) responsible for the loss arising from his handling of the Pentascope deal.

    But El-Rufai insisted that ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar approved the management contract with Pentascope for NITEL.

    He said Pentascope was not foised on NITEL as being alleged in some quarters.

    A former Managing Directors of MTel, the GSM arm of NITEL, Mr Kunle Bello, said he foresaw the collapse of NITEL/MTel because of the alleged insincere and inconsistent implementation of policies by the El-Rufa’i-led BPE.

    He described Pentascope management as an “irredeemable misfortune” on the telecommunications industry and a disaster on NITEL/MTel workers “who have been dying one after another” following the non-payment of their pensions.

    Bello, who is an International Telecommunications Union (ITU) expert, alleged that Pentascope squandered over N100 billion of NITEL money, besides the loss of revenue without, adding a line to the nation’s telephone network.

    He urged the nation’s authorities to go after the perpetrators of the fraud.

    In a statement yesterday in Abuja, retirees of the telecommunications firms disagreed with El-Rufai’s claim that former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar approved the appointment of Pentascope to manage NITEL in 2003.

    The former workers said they held El-Rufa’i responsible not only for the collapse of NITEL but also for the destruction of their careers.

    “The issue is who issued or originated the memorandum to the National Council on Privatisation (NCP)? How did El-Rufa’i, as BPE’s Director-General, pick Pentascope to manage NITEL?” they said.

    The retirees accused El-Rufa’i of misleading the National Council on Privatisation and the Federal Government by presenting Pentascope as a capable management company with ability to turn NITEL’s fortunes around.

    Michael Awos, who served the defunct Post and Telecommunications (P & T) for 30 years as a technical staff, told reporters that Pentascope was brought purposely to “siphon money and kill this organisation (NITEL) we spent all our lives to build”.

    He added: “He (El-Rufa’i) broke and twisted all the rules to make Pentascope win. Penstascope was one and the same with El-Rufa’i. The face of Pentascope was represented by El-Rufai’s two closest friend… Pentascope in Holland was a one-man office. It had a single room at its office. Its Rolling Mast was on top of a church building.

    The retirees said the destruction of NITEL had been revealed in two reports by the House of Representatives and the Senate.

    Quoting one of the reports, the former workers said: “…Rather than using Atiku as scapegoat for the collapse of NITEL to serve his hidden agenda, the concerned group of former NITEL workers advised El-Rufa’i to be honourable enough to accept the responsibility for railroading and blackmailing the former NITEL board and the Privatisation Council into approving a contract that had short-changed Nigerians and children yet unborn”.

    They decried the “human debris of the destruction wrought on NITEL by El-Rufai’s selfish and callous agenda to short-change Nigerians”.

    The former NITEL workers urged the former BPE chief should apologise to Nigerians for his misdeeds.

    They recalled that in May 2003, the House of Representatives accused El-Rufai of misleading the Federal Government about the Pentascope management contract.

    The committee, they said, found that the evaluation of the bids was “suspect” and that Pentascope lied on its true legal status and origin.

    The former NITEL workers said the House discovered that Pentascope was supposedly registered on January 1, 2002, a public holiday in European countries.

    The group accused El-Rufa’i of imposing the Dutch company on a hostile NITEL board, its workers and Nigerians.

    According to the group, the Pentascope misadventure led to NITEL profits nose-diving from N15 billion in 2002 and turned it into a loss of N19 billion in 2003.

    The group, quoting the House Communications Committee report, also said that NITEL’s turnover dropped from N53 billion to N41 billion.

    Despite the dramatic drop in NITEL’s turnover under Pentascope management, the group alleged that direct costs and overhead costs increased from N21.3 billion to N26.3 billion and from N19.4 billion to N30 billion.

    Comrade Elias Kazzah, the National Adviser of Senior Staff Association of Communications, Transport and Corporations (SSACTC) and President of the NITEL unit of the association, advised El-Rufa’i to keep his peace because of his mismanagement of the Pentascope transaction, which led to the demise of the company.

    Kazzah, who spoke on behalf of the NITEL union, insisted that El-Rufa’i’s imposition of Pentascope on NITEL and Nigeria led to huge economic loss.

    According to him, the huge remittances of the national carrier to the nation’s economy destroyed careers of a vibrant workforce and also posed security risks.

    Also, a former Managing Director of NITEL, Prof Buba Bajoga, decried the destruction of NITEL as “very painful”.

    He said by the time he left the organisation as its head in 2000, NITEL was a viable commercial organisation.

    “We approved the payment of dividends to government and I remember that I left N15 billion and U.S. Dollar 200 million in the coffers of the organisation,” he said.

  • Two million drivers face £1,000 fine

    As many as two million drivers could face £1,000 fines for failing to update the photo on their driving licence, according to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).

    The photo on your driving licence needs to be updated every 10 years – and failing to do so would invalidate your licence and could leave you with a £1,000 fine if pulled over by the police.

    But as many as two million have not updated their photo, leaving them vulnerable to a nasty surprise if stopped with an invalid driving licence.

    The DVLA said it sends reminders out two months before a renewal is due.

    A spokesperson for the authority says: “Appearances can change and it is important that photo card licences are updated every 10 years to ensure the police and other enforcement agencies have the best possible photograph to help them correctly identify whether a driving licence is being used fraudulently.

    This, the agency said, helps prevent driving licence impersonation – stopping disqualified and perhaps dangerous drivers taking to our roads.”

  • Seven drivers of effective job search (I)

    In 2013, I am almost sure you strongly desire to get your dream job. As far as this is concerned, we are one. We will like to see you succeed. Last week’s presentation and today’s are geared towards ensuring you achieve your objective. In fact we will give you set of “Quick Guide” to get you off the unemployment line in these first set of articles in 2013. Let us continue on the drivers of effective and fast job-hunting in Nigeria’s competitive job market. We have considered five drivers.

     

    Getting organisedfor job search

    The starting point is skill analysis. Skills are the fundamental basis of job search. Employers are looking for certain skills, and the best jobs are those ones where your skills match the needs of the employer. There are three types of skills job specific, self-management and transferable skills. You also need to put together an arsenal of accomplishments. This is for those with fairly long working history, highlighting their career achievements.

    You need to understand your strength(s), weakness (es), interests, aptitude and potential. What would you like to do with your life, all your life? Using the input from the above, you will determine and write your career/job objective statement. It is a statement that describes or states what career or job (or a range of closely-related occupations) you desire. A job/career objective statement must highlight what skills you have to offer the employer as well.

     

    Develop a job-hunting strategy

    I am sure the question floating in your mind is “where are the jobs? You are already on your way to uncovering the job market. The next step is to analyse the job and business environment. There are opportunities in education/training, agriculture, accounting/banking/finance, insurance, manufacturing, healthcare, service, government, civil-society/social/professional organisations, oil/gas, media/publishing sectors of the economy. All you need to do is to develop special interest in specific job market/segment that holds promise and potential of a good job for you.

    You will now generate a list of potential employers in respect of your chosen job objective. Necessary information may be obtained from friends, relations, consultants, vendors, newspapers, trade journals etc. Once you’ve made your choice, go after them- using conventional and unconventional means.

    How do you intend to pursue these job opportunities? Specifically, what is your job hunting strategy? I can only tell you what is working and what is not working Let us start with what is working poorly.

     

    The five most ineffective job search strategies are:

    • Internet-posting your CV/Resume on the Internet, and expect potential employer to visit the board/site and make a choice, depending on the match between your skills and their requirements. It has four to 10 per cent success rate

    • Mailing out Resume CV to employers at random (Resume blasting). Seven per cent success rate.

    • Answering ads in professional/trade journals. Seven per cent success rate.

    • Responding to Newspaper ads. five to 24 per cent success rate. The higher the salary/position, the lower the success rate

    • Using employment agencies, five-28 per cent success rate.

    • The higher the salary/position, the lower the success rate

     

    Now, the best five ways to search for a job

    • Ask for job leads from family, friends, people you know, etc – “Do you know of any job at the place where you work, or elsewhere?” Thirty-three per cent success rate

    • Knocking on the door of any employer, factory, office etc, whether they are known to have vacancy or not. Forty-seven per cent success rate

    • Identifying subject/field of interest, identifying employers on that field and calling on them to ask if you they are hiring for the position you desire and that you know you can do well. 69 per cent success rate.

    • Do the above in a group with other job hunters. Seventy-six per cent success rate

    • Doing a life – changing job search (identifying your skills, proffered places, interest and acceptable working environment and going after the job you desire) 86 per cent success rate.

    There is still a better method: combining the strategies (experts suggest it should not more than four!).

    A fact never to be forgotten: the major difference between successful and unsuccessful job seekers is not some factors out there, or the ‘barrier’ listed earlier. It is the way they go about their job hunt. A successful job search requires organisation and effort. Don’t think of yourself as unemployed.

    You have a job, full time job. If you are employed think of your job search as a part-time job. If you are unemployed, the working hours of five to eight are available for your job search. If you are employed but seeking new opportunities, you need to make time for your job search, and be consistent.

    Job search requires that you develop a new set of priorities and schedules. Be aware that there will be distractions. Just about anything will sound better than looking for work. Don’t be fooled, your number one priority is finding that new job. Don’t let anything get in your way. Here are some tips:

    • Establish measurable goals, on daily and weekly basis. If you set 10 am-3 pm every Tuesday for research, your goal could be to identify 10 new employers you can pursue. Wednesday’s goal could be to contact the employer you identified on Tuesday. Be realist, but challenge yourself.

    • Make yourself accountable. Check your progress at the end of each day and each week. Set new goals. It is a good strategy to involve someone else in your search. Give them permission to hold you accountable for your plans. Or join/create a job-hunters club/group.

    • Keep accurate records if you are conducting a serious job campaign. You make hundreds of contacts and generate new opportunities regularly. Don’t rely on your memory, develop and maintain a filling and/or a recording system – binders, pocket calendars and notebooks.

    Your destiny is in your hands in 2013.

     

    PS: Give yourself a big advantage in the job market- get a copy of our recently published book, JobSearchGuru’s JOB-HUNTING MANUAL. Visit our website for details.

     

     

     

  • Key drivers for insurance growth in 2013

    DESPITE the inability of insurance industry to meet its set target of N1 trillion premium income projections last year, operators are optimistic that the entrenchment of some basic fundamentals last year would prop the industry to lofty heights this year.

    To reposition the industry, stakeholders have identified proper budget implementation, enforcement of insurance laws, adherence to ethical practice, among others, as key drivers that will propel growth in the industry.

    President, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), Wole Adetimehin, said the operators hope that the implementation of the budget would be timely and decisive, adding that the government has raised the hope of the public by ensuring that the budget was passed before the close of last year.

    President, Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB), Mrs Laide Osijo, noted that the government should ensure that the budgetary provision for insurance should be well used, and that it should not be diverted.

    She said the response of insurers to the budget would also help to drive the industry and the operators’abilities to study the budget to ascertain where to take pragmatic steps to tap into it, would help push the industry up.

    The enforcement of compulsory insurance laws, such as motor third party policy, insurance of buildings and buildings under construction, among others, would help prop the industry.

    Observers believed there should be a collaboration between the industry and government’s security authorities to ensure implementation of the laws.

    Managing Director Riskguard-Africa Nigeria Limited Yemi Soladoye, said the N1 trillion projection tied to the Market Development and Restructuring Initiative (MDRI) programme failed due to delayed implementation.

    He noted that the programme was to start in 2009, but took off in 2011, leaving two years out of the implementation schedule.

    “Most people are reading the strategy document and not relating it to when implementation took off. If there is a projection that in year four, we will get N1 trillion and as we could see from the paper, we were to start in 2009, we had what we were to achieve in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. So, N1 trillion is in year four which is 2012. If implementation started in 2011, it will be a case of shifting the deliverables forward based on the difference on the ground between the strategy crafting and the implementation,” he said.

    The policy on ‘No Premium No Cover’ has been adjudged as one of the best initiatives to sanitise and boost the industry’s premium income.

    Osijo said what the administration in National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has done to bring sanity into the industry is a right step in the right direction, adding that underwriters accusing brokers of non-remittance of premiums will be a thing of the past with the introduction of the policy.

    NAICOM has said from January 1, this year, any underwriting firm that provides insurance cover without collecting the premium would be liable to a penalty of N500, 000 or lose its licence.

    It noted that insurance covers shall only be provided on ‘no premium no cover’ basis, adding that only cover for which payment has been received, directly by the insurer or indirectly through a duly licensed insurance broker, shall be recognised as income in the books of the insurer.

    NAICOM said any insurer, who grants cover without having premium in advance or notification from the relevant insurance broker shall be liable to a penalty of N500, 000 on each cover so granted, and in addition, may be a ground for suspension of the licence of the insurer.

    On professional practices, the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) has threatened to withdraw its certificates from members who engage in unethical practices.

    Its President, Dr Wole Adetimehin, said the institute reserves the right to withdraw its certificate from any holder, if it discovers any breach, adding that further reason for such withdrawal of certificates may emanate from acts unbecoming of a holder of the institute’s professional qualification.

    “Permit me to reiterate the policy of council regarding certificates issued by the institute as the institute’s property, which could be withdrawn from the holders if the institute has good reasons to do so.

    “Let me state categorically that the institute reserves the right to withdraw its certificate from any holder, if it discovers any breach of the examination process. A further reason for such withdrawal of certificates may emanate from acts unbecoming of a holder of the Institute’s professional qualification, “ he said.

    Curbing the unethical practices between underwriters and brokers, observers say that would enhance the industry’s performance and build a lasting trust that would make the industry grow high premium income.

    Over the years, underwriters and brokers have often engaged in premium war, which, observers believed, has hampered growth.

    Proper implementation of the Nigerian Content Act on insurance would open up the billion dollar oil and gas business to operators, who have been empowered to underwrite 70 per cent risks in the sector.

    Insurers have called on oil and gas operators to lower the hurdles placed on their way. They believed their engagement would give them the opportunity to acquire more knowledge on oil and gas underwriting.

    Insurance brokers are worried by the enormous demands by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in engaging them for its risks.

    They said the NNPC has placed difficult hurdles to restrain brokers from qualifying for risks allotted to local brokers by the Nigerian Content Policy.

    They said 34 brokers were engaged for the NNPC account in 2011, but the number was reduced to 14, last year. Insurers have, therfore, called for a rise in the number this year.

    Operators called for the development of infrastructure to reduce their overheads and enable them to enhance their operations.

    Adetimehin said: “We do hope the government would do a lot more this year to ensure better development of right infrastructure in power supply, energy and job creation. Because, these are basic elements that could propel economic performance.”

    Observers believed the fight against corruption would help insurance attract positive image home and abroad.

    They appealed to the public to join hands with the government in the fight against corruption, stressing that corruption is a problem that cannot be fought by the government alone.

    They noted that though the public look up to the government to set the pace, the citizens should operate on high integrity to ensure that they shun corruption, so that the nation’s image and ranking before the rest of the world could be improved upon.