A brief exchange between UBA Group Chairman Tony Elumelu and a young graduate has sparked a fresh debate online over workplace etiquette and the use of first names in corporate Nigeria.
The moment occurred on Thursday during the graduation ceremony of UBA’s Graduate Management Accelerated Programme (GMAP), where a female graduate addressed the businessman as “Tony” while asking a question during the interactive session.
Elumelu initially appeared to misunderstand her greeting, responding, “Toyin? Toyin?” After she clarified that she had said “Good morning, Tony,” he told her that he preferred to be addressed as “Mr Elumelu” or “TOE.”
“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 graduate immediately adjusted her greeting, addressing him as “Mr Elumelu” before continuing with her question. The exchange was captured on video and quickly spread across social media, prompting contrasting reactions from Nigerians.
Some users argued that the graduate should have recognised the formal setting and used an appropriate title when addressing a senior executive. Others, however, said the incident reflected changing workplace culture, particularly among younger professionals who may be accustomed to organisations where senior colleagues are addressed by their first names.
One X user, identified as @ibnjaafar1205, argued that the issue was about social awareness rather than Elumelu’s status or wealth. Another user, @Ms_ronkeh, maintained that formal titles remain appropriate even in Western corporate settings unless a person specifically invites the use of their first name.
Other commenters defended the graduate, pointing to the practices of modern corporate workplaces. An X user, @WildCoderr, said some companies encourage first-name communication between employees and senior executives, while @iamkadirii noted that some organisations actively discourage excessive use of titles.
The exchange came as UBA Group celebrated 374 young professionals who completed its GMAP programme. The initiative is designed to develop young professionals for leadership roles across UBA’s African markets, with Elumelu previously saying the programme has trained more than 5,000 young professionals.
UBA described the latest graduates as part of the next generation of leaders and encouraged them to take on new challenges and make an impact in their respective markets. The viral exchange has now added an unexpected conversation about corporate etiquette to what was otherwise a celebration of the graduates.
