Acronyms

You probably noticed too. 

In the build up to the 2019 general elections in Nigeria, I read up a number of new articles on local and international news websites. I read about three that stuck with me, because of something strange that I noticed. 

I read and noticed that the name of the electoral body that conducts elections in Nigeria, the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) was written in acronym as Inec  in three of the news articles I read on a foremost news website. Curious, I contacted the writer, who also confirmed my observation. By the time he contacted me, I had a totally different view on how acronyms are used by international news organizations. 

So, why Inec and not INEC. I was told that the acronym is written Inec because it is pronounced like a word, unlike UNO or BBC that you have to pronounce the individual letters or one by one. In other words, you don't say I, then N, then E, and then C, when pronouncing Inec; hence, the reason it is written thus. My curiosity still got a better of me and I went online and ran a search through previous news articles on the BBC and the Guardian UK news sites to verify the claim. Lo, it was true! For instance, the acronym of United Nations Children and Education Fund was written as Unesco; Union of European Football was written as Uefa; Federation of International Football Association was written as Fifa; Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries was written as Opec, among others. Some exceptions were noticed, though. I must however admit that my check on the New York Times news website showed that they retained our acquainted style of writing acronyms.

When you probably see that on international news websites, you have been told the reason behind the usage. But will this be acceptable in essays in public examinations in West Africa? I don't think so yet! And I must admit that even local news websites have not imbibed the trend.