Media executive and EbonyLife CEO Mo Abudu has weighed in on Nigeria’s growing debate over first-name culture, saying she expects younger people to show greater formality when addressing their elders and seniors.
Abudu made the remarks during an appearance on media personality Toke Makinwa’s Toke Moments, where she spoke about the influence of her upbringing on her views about respect and social etiquette.
The media mogul said she was raised in Ondo by her grandmother and described herself as “very traditional”.
For Abudu, that upbringing means she is uncomfortable with younger people addressing her casually by her first name.
“You can’t be calling me by my first name anyhow. I won’t take it,” she said.
Her comments come against the backdrop of an ongoing conversation about how age, status and workplace hierarchy should influence communication in modern Nigerian professional spaces.
The issue recently drew public attention after a trainee at a UBA Graduate Management Accelerated Programme ceremony addressed the bank’s Group Chairman, Tony Elumelu, simply as “Tony”.
Elumelu corrected her and asked that he be addressed more formally, sparking further discussion online about whether first-name communication represents informality, confidence or a disregard for established cultural norms.
Abudu’s comments reflect the view that professional and personal interactions should take account of age, experience and position, particularly within a culture where deference to elders remains an important social value.
During the interview, she also addressed the different labels often applied to successful women in business.
Abudu argued that behaviours that may attract negative descriptions when displayed by women can be interpreted more favourably when displayed by men.
“If I was a man, they wouldn’t say I was a shark,” she said.
Her remarks add another perspective to the wider discussion around gender, leadership and the expectations placed on women who occupy influential positions.
