Octave

“Good morning, Tony.” Those three words, spoken by a young woman to Tony Elumelu at a recent graduation event, ignited a national conversation within hours. Mr Elumelu corrected her at once: “No, you won’t call me Tony. You’ll call me Mr Elumelu, TOE or Chairman.” The clip spread rapidly, prompting debates about corporate culture, African respect, generational differences and the so-called “Oyibo” approach to workplace relationships. I watched the video several times. I could see both sides. I have worked in telecommunications and financial services environments where first-name culture was almost standard practice. At iSON BPO, inside an MTN call-centre setting, the atmosphere differed markedly from traditional Nigerian workplaces. I worked alongside Mr Adeyanju Johnson, Mr Onasa, Ms Odion, Mr Macaubrey et al…as my Team Lead. Even in that environment, I found it difficult to address some of them by first name alone. Earlier, in the financial sector, I called my branch manager Aunty Bi...