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A young lady has found herself at the centre of social media conversations after UBA Group Chairman, Tony Elumelu, corrected her for addressing him by his first name during an interactive session at the bank’s Graduate Management Accelerated Programme (GMAP) graduation ceremony on Thursday.
The moment came when the lady approached Elumelu and greeted him, saying, “Good morning, Tony.” At first, the businessman appeared to think she had called him “Toyin,” but after she clarified that she said “Tony,” he quickly corrected her.
“Okay. No, you won’t call me Tony. You’ll call me Mr Elumelu or TOE. You won’t call me Tony, or Chairman. I don’t subscribe to that kind of… Oyinbo life, okay?” Elumelu said.
The young woman immediately adjusted, replying, “Good morning, Mr Elumelu,” before continuing with her question.
The video of the exchange has since made the rounds on social media, with Nigerians divided over whether the graduate was out of line or simply following the informal culture common in some modern workplaces.
Some users argued that addressing a senior person by their first name during a formal event showed a lack of social awareness. One X user, @ibnjaafar1205, said the issue was not about Elumelu’s status or wealth but about knowing when to maintain a level of formality.
Another user, @Ms_ronkeh, maintained that even in Western corporate environments, familiarity with a senior executive does not automatically mean abandoning titles, asking rhetorically, “Tony? Na you born am?”
But others came to the young lady’s defence, pointing out that many corporate organisations encourage employees to address colleagues and even senior executives by their first names as part of a more relaxed workplace culture.
An X user, @WildCoderr, noted that many corporate environments operate on a first-name basis, suggesting that the graduate may simply have been following the culture she had become accustomed to.
Another user, @iamkadirii, also urged people not to judge her too harshly, explaining that banking trainees often interact with senior executives in environments where titles are not always emphasised.
Beyond the viral moment, the event was held to celebrate 374 young professionals who successfully completed UBA’s Graduate Management Accelerated Programme, which is designed to prepare emerging talents for leadership roles across the bank’s African markets.
UBA Group has said the programme has trained more than 5,000 young professionals over the years. The latest set of graduates were congratulated for completing the programme and encouraged to embrace leadership, purpose and innovation as they begin the next phase of their careers.
