A Nigerian professional has entered the national conversation sparked by a viral video involving billionaire Tony Elumelu and a young female graduate trainee at a United Bank for Africa (UBA) event. In a Facebook post published on August 21, 2026, Olumide Lawrence Odeyemi urged Nigerians not to crucify the young woman, describing the incident as a culture clash that many young African professionals face when entering corporate environments built on Western organisational models.
The incident occurred in Lagos at the graduation ceremony for UBA's Graduate Management Accelerated Programme (GMAP). The trainee addressed Tony Elumelu casually by his first name. Elumelu, the bank's outgoing chairman, responded by correcting her publicly, stating his preference for formal titles and asking her to address him as "Mr Elumelu," "TOE," or "Chairman" instead.
Odeyemi's explanation of the culture clash
According to Odeyemi, the trainee was a product of the bank's graduate programme and had simply done what she was trained to do during onboarding. The trouble, he explained, is that company policy and lived cultural reality do not always align, particularly in Nigerian firms that borrow from Western corporate structures.
"What HR leaves out is that corporate policy does not automatically override social culture," Odeyemi wrote. He pointed out that senior executives often share the same cultural background as junior staff and may quietly expect traditional markers of respect, even when the company handbook says otherwise. He noted that in practice, many executives are comfortable with first-name familiarity only after a certain level of rapport has been established. His advice to young professionals was to default to traditional respect, using titles such as "Mr. X," "Sir," or "Ma," until a senior colleague explicitly signals otherwise.
Praise for the trainee's composure and public reactions
Rather than condemn the trainee, Odeyemi praised the composure she showed throughout the exchange, describing her confidence as a quality worth nurturing. He called on her immediate managers and team members to encourage her rather than allow the public moment to damage her growth. He also acknowledged the broader irony of corporate life: the same environment that expects employees to show initiative also punishes certain initiatives informally, even when they are policy-compliant.
Nigerians reacted to the viral incident on social media. @Idaraesit Bill said: "I learnt and it was one of the reasons I resigned. They had a policy on paper, but crucified me for it. I had to pay a certain amount for following the company's policy. Banking is not for me, too much stress." @Prince Duma said: "Train up your Child in the way (s)he should grow so that she will NOT depart from it.......Was she the first to ask a question? Look, you can be academically sound, spiritually upright but morally foolish!" @Joan Oghogho Osagiede said: "She could have just said 'Good morning sir' without needing to mention name. Even oga Trump in a western setting is not blatantly called Trump. I don't refer to my MD by name, shey I want make my salary dey on transit with no visa to land?." @Ocheche Samari said: "The clip shouldn't have been posted on the internet."
Resurfaced video of Stanford student addressing Elumelu
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that an old video of a Stanford student addressing Tony Elumelu as "Hi Tony" had resurfaced following the recent incident. The footage originates from a fireside chat at Stanford Graduate School of Business, where Tony Elumelu appeared as a guest for the institution's "View From The Top" speaker series. During the session, student interviewer Chisom Obi-Okoye opened with a casual "Hi Tony," consistent with the relaxed, first-name culture typical of the academic setting. The resurfaced video adds another layer to the ongoing debate about cultural expectations in professional settings.
