- Morayo Brown, a media personality, commented on a viral video featuring billionaire Tony Elumelu and a graduate trainee.
- She shared her views in an Instagram reel on August 21, 2026.
- Brown questioned if the young woman should be held responsible for her manner of addressing Elumelu.
Media personality and talk show host Morayo Brown has shared her perspective on the viral video involving billionaire businessman Tony Elumelu and a graduate trainee, sparking reactions from fans and followers.
Brown addressed the controversy in an Instagram reel posted on Friday, August 21, 2026, where she questioned whether the young woman at the centre of the incident should be blamed for how she addressed the business mogul.
Instead, she pointed to the growing influence of Western workplace culture on Nigeria’s middle class, arguing that many professionals adopt practices from international environments without considering how well they fit into the country’s traditional values.
According to Brown, Nigerians who travel abroad or work with multinational organisations can sometimes return with workplace habits they have picked up overseas. She suggested that these practices may conflict with long-standing Nigerian expectations around respect and hierarchy.
To explain her point, Brown shared a personal experience involving her older sister, who returned from the United Kingdom and initially asked family members to address her by her first name. Brown said the habit was eventually corrected, describing it as an example of how people can temporarily adopt unfamiliar cultural practices.
The media personality also recalled an experience from her days on Your View. She said a fellow panellist once addressed a guest, Honourable Abike, by her first name, following what she described as journalistic convention.
While Brown acknowledged the professional reasoning behind the practice, she noted that it did not necessarily align with Nigerian cultural expectations concerning elders and people in positions of authority.
She further recalled that when she launched The Morayo Show, she intentionally referred to veteran broadcaster Agatha Amata as “Auntie Agatha.” Brown said she maintained the decision even after being corrected on air because she wanted her platform to reflect the cultural values she believed in.
Brown also questioned the role of modern corporate organisations in the gradual change in how Nigerians interact with senior figures. She specifically mentioned new-generation banks and companies influenced by Silicon Valley culture, arguing that they have contributed to the decline of traditional forms of professional deference.
Comparing Nigeria with countries such as India, Japan and France, Brown maintained that those societies have been able to embrace global business practices while still preserving aspects of their cultural identity.
She suggested that Nigeria, on the other hand, has been more willing to replace traditional workplace norms with foreign practices in the pursuit of modernity.
Addressing the graduate trainee directly, Brown said she did not believe the young woman necessarily intended to be disrespectful. Instead, she suggested that her behaviour may have been influenced by the professional environment in which she had been trained.
For Brown, the debate should therefore go beyond the individual incident and examine how Nigerian workplaces are redefining respect, professionalism and cultural identity.
“Professionalism does not have to mean abandoning culture. Modernity does not have to mean disrespect,” Brown said.
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Read some comments below:
@seyidanielogundipe:”The fact she knows that He is the Owner of the Bank should be enough for her. She doesn’t even need to call his name. Just use SIR!”
@tosinolarinde:”Well said. At this point, my main concern is how she’s feeling and the effect this may have on her mental wellbeing. Whoever released that clip has been extremely irresponsible. I really hope she has a strong support system around her and isn’t facing this alone.”
@hrm_queentobi:”Very well said ma, saying ‘Aunty Agatha’ often times when I courtesy and say ma to some people, some people tell me ‘you don’t have to’ I’m like, that’s my upbringing. I simply find it hard to call anyone 5yrs older than me by name.”
@damilolaogunsi:”Well spoken, Sis. No matter the trends we import from the West, it must still be subject to the culture of our clime. And you’re right about Nigerians and wanting to play woke for classism. The Japanese don’t forsake their cultures, the Chinese don’t, the French won’t, Italians will never, but it is always Black Africa.”
@jimmytjfawehinmi:”Well spoken, Morayo, for me is her body language and not even apologising, please let leave class out of this conversation. All she could have said is Mr. T. Shikena.”
