A young woman has gone viral after the Group Chairman of UBA, Tony Elumelu, corrected her for addressing him by his first name during an interactive session at the bank’s Graduate Management Accelerated Programme graduation ceremony on Thursday.
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In the video from the event, the trainee was heard saying, “Good morning, Tony,” while addressing the businessman.
He initially appeared to take the greeting lightly, responding, “Toyin? Toyin?”
When she clarified that she had said “Good morning, Tony,” he set out his preference.
“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?” he said.
The woman then corrected herself, saying, “Good morning, Mr Elumelu,” before proceeding with her question.
The exchange came as UBA Group celebrated 374 young professionals who completed its Graduate Management Accelerated Programme, describing them as part of the next generation of leaders across its African markets.
Elumelu had earlier shared a post celebrating the programme, saying it had trained more than 5,000 young professionals. The bank said the latest graduates had gained knowledge and experience to take on new challenges and create meaningful impact across their respective markets, and urged them to “go forward with purpose, lead with courage, and continue to shape the future.”
The video has divided opinion online.
One user wrote: “This isn’t about Tony Elumelu being a billionaire. It’s about basic social intelligence. If you are on a formal stage addressing someone in his official capacity, there is a difference between knowing him and addressing him appropriately.”
Another argued that the convention holds abroad as well. “Even in the so-called ‘Western world’, your formality should still be by title ‘Mr, Mrs/Miss’. Tony? Na you born am?”
A third user was blunter still. “So what happened to Mr Chairman? Even the oyinbo that she wants to copy won’t call him Tony on an occasion like this.”
Others took the opposite view.
One user asked: “What other way do you expect her to address him? That is his name. Abi make she call am ‘billionaire Tony’, ‘Oga Tony’? There was no disrespect to that.”
Another put the question simply: “Isn’t his name Tony?”
A further user drew a comparison abroad. “People call Elon, Elon everywhere and every now and then, and he is not even aware if you mentioned his name or not. It shows what you pay attention to and how occupied your mind is. Nothing disrespectful here. You don’t even know the space the girl comes from.”
One reaction framed the exchange as a matter of candour rather than manners. “Our disrespect is never said. She was only bold to say it out. Some people would have called him Tony in their heart and lain on the floor when they see him.”
Another questioned the emphasis altogether. “Nigeria, with all this obsession with superiority and demanding respect here and there, yet without any real change in the country and society. What exactly is wrong with her calling you Tony without ‘Mr’, ‘GM’, ‘Sir’? Is your name not Tony?”
A third strand of reaction suggested the trainee may have been applying the conventions of corporate workplaces where staff are encouraged to address colleagues and senior executives by first names.
“Most corporate culture mandates staff to communicate on a first-name basis, and our Gen Zs clearly don’t read the room as well. TOE corrected her respectfully though,” one user wrote.
Another said the trainee should not be judged entirely. “If she’s a banking trainee, we are used to calling our bosses ‘oga’, ‘sir’, ‘boss’,” the user wrote, adding that some senior executives had previously asked employees to address them by their names rather than titles.
“You Won’t Call Me Tony; Even In The So-Called Western World, Formality Should Still Be By Title” — Nigerians Divided Over Elumelu Exchange pic.twitter.com/DLYp1NrGze
— The Nigeria Lawyer (@Nigerialawyers) August 21, 2026
The moment has drawn comparison with a well-known exchange involving the American poet and author Maya Angelou, in which she corrected a young woman who addressed her by her first name during a televised discussion.
“First, I’m Ms Angelou. I’m not Maya. I’m 62 years old. I have lived so long and tried so hard that a young woman like you or any other has no license to come up to me and call me by my first name,” she said. “Also because at the same time I am your mother, I’m your auntie, I’m your teacher, I’m your professor.”
Asked whether this reflected a wider absence of discipline and respect, she directed the point at the older generation rather than the young.
“I only think that the children know only what we teach them. If there is something wrong in the generations, the last two generations which did not carry on the tradition, and I think this is true not just in the black community, this is true in the white community and all the communities, we have not taken the children to our knees and told them the truth.”
She added: “You live in direct relation to the poets, the heroes and the sheroes you have. Always honour the elders. Then you honour yourself. Honour women, you honour yourself.”
While the exchange itself was brief and ended with the trainee proceeding to ask her question, some of the online commentary directed at her has been abusive and personal, including remarks about her private life that bear no relation to what occurred at the event.
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