United Bank for Africa (UBA) chairman Tony Elumelu has publicly corrected a graduate trainee who greeted him by his first name during a bank event in Lagos.
In the video, the trainee, a graduand of UBA’s Graduate Management Acceleration Programme (GMAP), said, “Good morning, Tony.” Elumelu quickly responded, “No, you won’t call me Tony. I’m not one of those… You call me Mr. Elumelu, or TOE, or Chairman.”
He went further to explain his position, saying, “I don’t subscribe to that kind of Oyinbo life, okay!” using a Nigerian term for Western or foreign ways of doing things.
The clip has since spread widely online, sparking debate about respect, corporate culture, and how younger Nigerians should address senior figures.
A Generational Clash Playing Out in Nigerian Offices
This kind of disagreement is not new in Nigerian workplaces. It reflects a wider tension between traditional respect for elders and newer, more casual office cultures that many young Nigerians have picked up from multinational companies, social media, and Western films.
Nigerian companies are themselves divided on this question. Some organisations have long required staff, regardless of age or rank, to address one another strictly by first names as part of their official culture.
Other companies enforce the opposite rule. A widely shared account from a Nigerian professional described a colleague who was pressured for years by different employers to drop respectful titles and use first names for bosses, something he found deeply difficult because of how he was raised to treat elders.
Why This Small Exchange Struck a Nerve
At its core, the disagreement is about which culture should win inside a Nigerian company: the informal, first-name style common in some Western and tech-influenced workplaces, or the traditional Nigerian expectation that age and seniority earn a title.
The trainee’s situation adds another layer. Some commentators have pointed out that many young graduates are trained inside programmes that actively encourage first-name informality as a sign of a modern, accessible workplace, which may explain why she greeted him that way in the first place.
For the young woman personally, the effect has been an unexpected wave of public attention and scrutiny, with her greeting now judged by millions of strangers online rather than staying a private workplace correction.
At a national level, the moment feeds into a bigger, ongoing conversation in Nigeria about how Generation Z employees and older Nigerian leaders can work together without constant friction over etiquette, communication style, and expectations, an issue businesses across the country continue to grapple with as younger workers enter the labour force in large numbers.
Interestingly, the exchange also happened right around Elumelu’s own retirement as UBA chairman, which reportedly takes effect this week, adding extra attention to a moment already trending online.
Seeing Both Sides of the Titles Debate
Supporters of Elumelu’s response argue that in Nigerian culture, age and achievement still command a title, and that a young employee greeting a chairman by first name, without being invited to, can reasonably be seen as overstepping.
Others sympathise with the trainee, noting that she is likely a product of an increasingly globalised, informal workplace culture, and that a public correction, however polite, can be embarrassing for someone still trying to make a good impression early in her career.
A few commentators have taken a middle position, suggesting that companies should clearly tell trainees upfront how senior leaders prefer to be addressed, so that young employees are not left to guess and risk public correction.
What This Moment Teaches Nigerian Workplaces
We think this exchange is a small moment carrying a bigger lesson: Nigeria’s corporate culture is still working out how to blend respect for tradition with the informality that younger employees bring into the workplace.
We do not believe the trainee acted out of disrespect. She likely reflects a generation shaped by more casual global workplace norms. At the same time, we think Elumelu’s correction, delivered firmly but without humiliation, is a reasonable reminder that titles still matter to many senior Nigerians, and that new employees should learn how their leaders prefer to be addressed before assuming familiarity.
Ultimately, workplaces that spell out these expectations early will likely spare both young employees and senior leaders the kind of public awkwardness this video has now put on display for the whole country to see.
Published by Ejoh Caleb
