A brief exchange between billionaire businessman Tony Elumelu and a young graduate trainee at UBA has sparked a wider conversation about respect, workplace culture and the growing influence of Western workplace norms in Nigeria.
During a question and answer session at UBA’s Graduate Management Accelerated Programme, the trainee began by saying, “Good morning, Tony.” Elumelu immediately interrupted her.
“You won’t call me Tony. You’ll call me Mr. Elumelu. I don’t subscribe to that kind of Oyibo life,” he said.
The moment has since gone viral, with Nigerians divided over whether the young woman was simply following modern workplace culture or crossed a line that should have been obvious in the Nigerian setting.
The News Chronicles reports that the incident has reopened an old conversation about the use of first names in Nigerian workplaces, particularly in the banking sector, where younger employees are increasingly encouraged to communicate with senior executives in a more informal manner.
In many modern corporate environments, calling a senior executive by their first name is viewed as a sign of equality, openness and accessibility. It can remove unnecessary barriers and create a workplace where employees feel comfortable speaking freely.
But Nigeria is not completely governed by that model.
Here, age, position and social standing still influence how people address one another. Calling an older person “Mr”, “Mrs”, “Sir”, “Ma”, “Chief” or by an appropriate title remains deeply embedded in everyday interactions. In formal settings, especially when meeting someone for the first time, respect is often expected before familiarity.
That is where the Elumelu incident becomes interesting.
The issue may not simply be whether calling him Tony was technically wrong. The bigger question is whether everything considered acceptable in a modern workplace should automatically override the cultural instincts of the environment in which we operate.
The Gen Z generation has been raised to question hierarchy, challenge outdated traditions and demand more relaxed relationships at work. That has brought positive changes. However, confidence and informality can sometimes become confused with familiarity.
There is also a lesson for employers. If an organization wants employees to call senior executives by their first names, that culture should be clearly established. Without that clarity, a young employee entering a formal interaction may reasonably be expected to observe the traditional Nigerian rules of respect.
Perhaps the young trainee was not being disrespectful. Perhaps she simply applied the wrong cultural rule at the wrong moment.
And maybe that is the real lesson from the viral exchange: being modern does not mean abandoning good manners. Knowing when to challenge convention is important, but knowing when to respect it is wisdom.
