Nigerian English

A standard, not a deviation#

Nigerian English is the shared language of Nigerian digital life. Writing "mobile phone credit" when every user says airtime doesn't make a product more correct — it makes it foreign. This page standardises the choice so teams stop relitigating it.

The principle: use the Nigerian term when it is the term users use, and define it on first use only if your product also serves non-Nigerian audiences.

Standardised vocabulary#

| Use | Avoid | Notes | | --- | --- | --- | | airtime | phone credit, top-up credit | "Buy airtime" is universally understood | | recharge | top up (for airtime) | "Top up" is fine for wallets | | data | internet bundle, megabytes | "Buy data" / "data plan" | | POS | card machine, terminal | POS also means the agent business itself | | transfer | wire, remittance (domestic) | "Send money" in friendly contexts | | BVN, NIN | spell out on first use | See Government IDs | | network | carrier, operator | "MTN network", "network issues" |

Words to use with care#

• "Do the needful", "kindly", "revert" — corporate register, not interface language. See Plain language.
• "Dash" (to give freely) — warm in marketing for the right brand voice, too informal for transactional copy.
• "Go-slow", "light" (electricity) — fine in conversational contexts users initiate; avoid in system messages.

Spelling#

Use British spelling, which Nigerian English follows: colour, organise, centre, licence (noun) / license (verb), cheque.

Pidgin is a language, not a tone#

Nigerian Pidgin deserves real translation, not English sprinkled with "abeg". See Translation principles.

Related guidance#

• Plain language
• Financial terminology