Nollywood actress Shaffy Bello's comments on respect and age have resurfaced online, amid the ongoing debate over Tony Elumelu's name controversy. In a clip believed to be at least two years old, Bello explains how she responds when children call her by her first name.
Formal Greetings in Africa
In the clip, Bello said young people have not "earned the right" to call her by her first name. She recalled an instance where a child called her "Shaffy" and she pulled them closer, saying, "You haven't earned the right, and you'll never will." This, she explained, is because in Africa, particularly among the Igbos, it is customary to address elders with titles such as "Aunty" or "Ma."
The Elumelu Debate
Bello's comments have resurfaced amid the debate over Tony Elumelu correcting a trainee who called him "Tony" at UBA's Graduate Management Accelerated Programme ceremony. Elumelu told the trainee that she would address him as "Mr Elumelu" or "TOE," adding that he does not subscribe to the "oyinbo lifestyle." The exchange has split opinion online, with some Nigerians defending Elumelu's stance on formality and others arguing that first-name address is increasingly normal in modern corporate culture.
Cultural Divide
The debate deepened after an old 2022 clip resurfaced showing a Stanford Graduate School of Business student greeting Elumelu with "Hi Tony" during a fireside chat, to a far more relaxed reaction from him at the time. This contrast fuelled accusations of inconsistency, with a widely shared post questioning why the same address was tolerated in one setting and corrected in another. Bello's older comments, though unrelated to Elumelu directly, have been pulled back into the conversation as an example of the same generational stance on respect and formal address playing out across Nigerian public life.
No Comment from Bello or Elumelu
Neither Bello nor Elumelu has commented on the other's remarks. The debate over formal greetings and respect continues to play out online, with many Nigerians weighing in on the issue. As the conversation continues, one thing is clear: the cultural divide between generations and regions is a complex issue that will take time to resolve.
Source: Pulse.ng
