A young female graduate has gone viral after UBA Group Chairman Tony Elumelu corrected her for calling him by his first name during an interactive session at the bank’s Graduate Management Accelerated Programme (GMAP) graduation ceremony on Thursday.
The ceremony, organised by United Bank for Africa (UBA), celebrated 374 young professionals who completed the programme.
In a video that has gone viral on social media, the graduate was heard saying, “Good morning, Tony.”
Elumelu appeared to take it lightly at first, asking, “Toyin? Toyin?”
After she clarified that she said “Good morning, Tony,” the billionaire businessman explained that he preferred to be called “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?” he said.
The graduate then corrected herself, saying, “Good morning, Mr Elumelu,” before asking her question.
The moment has drawn mixed reactions online. While some praised Elumelu for clearly stating how he wanted to be addressed, others said the graduate may have been influenced by modern corporate culture, where employees are often encouraged to use senior executives’ first names.
