Mo Abudu weighs in on Nigeria's "don't call me by my name" debate, says she won't take it either

• Mo Abudu says she does not accept younger people casually calling her by her first name.

• Her comments come amid the ongoing debate over Tony Elumelu correcting a trainee who called him “Tony.”

• Abudu also spoke about gender bias in business, saying successful women are more likely to be labelled “sharks.”

Media mogul and EbonyLife CEO Mo Abudu has added her voice to an ongoing national conversation about respect and workplace etiquette, saying she will not accept being casually addressed by her first name, particularly by younger people.

Speaking on Toke Moments with Toke Makinwa, Abudu explained that her stance comes from a traditional upbringing, having been raised by her grandmother in Ondo. "I am very traditional. I was brought up in Ondo by my grandmother. 

You can't be calling me by my first name anyhow. I won't take it!" she said. When Makinwa asked whether she specifically expected to be called "Aunty," Abudu confirmed that casual first-name usage from younger people simply wasn't something she was willing to accept.

Her comments arrive some weeks after a separate incident reignited public debate over the same issue. At a graduation ceremony for UBA's Graduate Management Accelerated Programme, a trainee was stopped mid-greeting by the bank's Group Chairman, Tony Elumelu, after addressing him simply as "Tony." 

A video of the exchange, in which the trainee quickly corrected herself to "Good morning, Mr Elumelu," went viral, splitting opinion between those who saw it as a fair enforcement of respect and others who viewed it as reflecting an increasingly outdated corporate culture, given that many modern workplaces now encourage more casual, first-name interactions between executives and younger staff.

Abudu's comments position her firmly on one side of that divide, reinforcing a broader generational expectation that titles and formal address remain markers of respect, regardless of how informal corporate culture may be shifting elsewhere.

Beyond the naming debate, Abudu also touched on how she is perceived as a woman in business, pushing back against being labelled a "shark" in industry circles. 

She argued that the term would likely never be used to describe her if she were a man, framing it as an example of how successful women are often described differently than their male counterparts for exhibiting similar traits.

Abudu, who founded EbonyLife Media and has expanded the brand internationally, including an upcoming EbonyLife Place location set to open in London in October, has increasingly used public platforms to speak candidly about respect, gender perception in business, and her personal life, continuing to position herself as an outspoken voice within Nigeria's entertainment and media industry.

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