After a young executive trainee’s “Good morning, Tony” greeting to United Bank for Africa Group Chairman, Tony Elumelu, sparked a debate online, corporate workers and Nigerians have continued to revisit the place of first-name culture in Nigerian workplaces.

🇳🇬 Here's What Happened

The debate followed a viral video from Thursday’s graduation ceremony of UBA’s Graduate Management Accelerated Programme, where the trainee addressed Elumelu as “Tony” while speaking during an interactive session.

Elumelu initially appeared to mishear her, asking, “Toyin? Toyin?” before she clarified that she had said, “Good morning, Tony.”

He then corrected her, telling her to address him as “Mr Elumelu” or “TOE”.

📌 Key Details

The trainee subsequently addressed him as “Mr Elumelu” and continued with her question.

Since the video went viral, the conversation has continued among corporate workers and other Nigerians, with opinions divided over whether first-name policies should apply across all levels of an organisation or whether employees should defer to senior executives based on age, rank and the setting.

Some workers have also revisited their experiences with first-name policies in Nigerian banks and other corporate organisations, while others argue that such policies can create unnecessary confusion when employees are expected to understand when to use a colleague’s first name and when to revert to formal titles.

Reacting to the incident, Jide Akintunde, #JSAkintunde, said Elumelu’s objection was surprising given his long-standing association with the name Tony.

He wrote, “I am surprised that Tony Elumelu objects to being addressed publicly by his first name. For years, his first name was central to his public and industry branding.”

Akintunde argued that the correction highlighted the power imbalance between Elumelu and the young trainee.

📰 Source: Punch Nigeria