There has been a great deal said on both sides of the recent controversy surrounding Tony O. Elumelu, C.F.R., after he corrected a young professional who addressed him simply as “Tony.”
As is often the case in the age of social media, what was a brief interaction quickly became something much larger: a debate about respect, hierarchy, age, generational change and whether some of Nigeria’s traditional cultural norms still have a place in a modern, increasingly global workplace.
I understand that the young woman and Mr. Elumelu have since met, and I hope that brings the personal dimension of the matter to an end. Anyone bullying or attacking her over what was almost certainly an innocent cultural mistake is completely wrong. There was no great offence committed here, and certainly nothing that warrants the abuse that social media can so easily unleash.
But I also understand Tony Elumelu’s reaction.
Perhaps
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