Don’t call me by my first name, Mo Abudu tells young people

Media mogul and EbonyLife CEO, Mo Abudu, has explained why she expects younger people to address her formally, saying her views on respect were shaped by her traditional upbringing.

Abudu stated this during a conversation with Toke Makinwa on Toke Moments, which was shared on IG on Saturday where she described herself as “very traditional” and said she was raised by her grandmother in Ondo.

The media executive said she would not accept being addressed casually by her first name, particularly by younger people.

“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.

Abudu also spoke about perceptions of women in business, arguing that qualities that may be used negatively to describe successful women would often be framed differently when referring to men.

“If I was a man, they wouldn’t say I was a shark. They’re going to say she’s an astute businesswoman,” she said.

On relationships, the 61-year-old media executive said “nobody can break my heart,” insisting that heartbreak is no longer something she worries about at her age.

She added that she would rather date someone her age or older, stressing that for her to respect a partner, “you must have achieved something.”

Her comments come amid a recent debate over workplace etiquette and how younger employees should address senior executives.

At the graduation ceremony of UBA’s Graduate Management Accelerated Programme, a trainee was recently stopped mid-greeting by the bank’s Group Chairman, Tony Elumelu, after addressing him simply as “Tony”.

In a video from the event, the trainee was heard saying, “Good morning, Tony,” while addressing the businessman.

Elumelu, however, expressed displeasure and corrected the graduate trainee, asking her to address him as “Mr Elumelu” or “TOE”.

Watch the video below:

𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐌𝐞 𝐁𝐲 𝐌𝐲 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐍𝐚𝐦𝐞, 𝐌𝐨 𝐀𝐛𝐮𝐝𝐮 𝐓𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞

Credit: IG | tokemakinwa

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