I think it was sometime in late 1985 that I first heard that Yvonne Maha was dead.
Two years earlier, she had been the sensational talent find of 1983. Her Sonny Okosuns-produced debut Child For Sale had been a smashing success--the toast of the primary school hit parade, the soundtrack to many a preteen birthday party and family roadtrip. She had blown into our lives like a whirlwind of adorableness and goshdarn it, the public was sucked in. Now two years had passed since anybody had seen or heard anything from her. Two years can feel like a mighty long time when you've been alive for just over a decade yourself, and people started to wonder and speculate as to why she hadn't come out with another album.
And then the news of her fate hit the national gossip network: Yvonne had gotten pregnant. Tried to have an abortion. Something went wrong. She died.
Now this puzzled the hell out of me at the time. "She was having an abortion? How old was she, thirteen?"
"Yes," my aunt replied sternly. "That's why she died. She was too young and her body could not withstand the pregnancy. And the moral of the story is: Don't have sex before marriage! You hear?"
Well, however well-meaning the moral may have been, the story itself was soon discredited as pure fabu(lism): Some people knew which secondary school Yvonne Maha went to and confirmed that she had never been pregnant and was certainly not dead. Everybody breathed a sigh of relief and went back to waiting for her follow-up to Child For Sale.
About two years later, the rumor mill once again reported again that Yvonne Maha had died.
"I thought they said she died two years ago!" I groaned.
"That was just a rumor," my aunt clucked. "She didn't die back then, but she's dead now. This time it's true."
"How did she die?"
"Complications from abortion."
Oooooooooookay.
"And that is why you should not have sex before marriage!"
After that, the "Yvonne Maha is dead" story would resurface anew every few years. And with each new iteration, its peddlers would firmly assure you that yes, this time she really was dead and that yes, she died during an abortion. As recently as 2005 I heard people telling that story.
Well, for the record: In 2007 Yvonne Maha is alive and well and living in Brazil. But the persistent reports of her demise do kind of beg an interesting question: Why did the public seem to so desperately want--almost need--Yvonne Maha dead? And from an abortion, of all things? And why is it that as years have gone by and Yvonne Maha has receded somewhat in the public's memory, the "death by abortion" story has been passed on to early-90s preteen singer Tosin Jegede? (For the record: Tosin Jegede is not dead, she's a sculptor.)
Could it be that these little girl singers represent purity and innocence, and so the thought of them growing up into womanhood and inevitably engaging in womanly activities such as sexual intercourse is so unacceptable that we must create these myths where their sexual precocity leads to their destruction?
> shrug < Shit, I dunno.
Anyway, if you were a kid in Nigeria in the 80s, you almost certainly know this album inside out. Listening to it now, I'm surprised at how well it holds up for me--I mean, even if twee cutesy-kiddie stuff like this makes your molars hurt, you can't completely front on the music itself, can you? This was the period when Sonny Okosuns could do no wrong and his Ozziddi band was on the way to becoming the Ozziddi brand. The tasteful instrumental performances and production on this album are very much on par with great Okosuns albums such as Fire in Soweto and 3rd World. I remember really loving the backing vox on this record, and they still sound pretty good to me, too.
The song "Don't Treat Me Like a Child" still makes me slightly uncomfortable, too. I used to love this song back in '83, when I first realized that I loved ballads, but even then I thought it was a bit on the creepy side. It was so obviously a ventriloquist number with a grownup putting these supposedly cute/coy words into a little girl's mouth, but what made it particularly discomfiting was the video: Yvonne and some boy sitting on a bench at Apapa Amusement Park, dressed in their best birthday party duds as she serenades him. Both of them look ungodly embarrassed by the whole affair, especially the end where she reluctantly slides over (you can actually see her blushing as she looks off camera at someone who is obviously goading her forward) and hugs him, singing "Wait for me to grow up... Then I will kiss you, too... Then I will kiss you... Wait for me to grow up, then I will love you... too."
And the worst thing about it was that rumor had it the boy was her brothers
10 Netiquette guidelines every online student needs to know
Unknown
September 12, 2020
10 Netiquette guidelines every online student needs to know
Learn how to be on your best behavior in an online classroom with 10 netiquette guidelines every online student needs to know.
1. NO YELLING, PLEASE
There’s a time and a place for everything—BUT IN MOST SITUATIONS TYPING IN ALL CAPS IS INAPPROPRIATE. Most readers tend to perceive it as shouting , If you have vision issues, there are ways to adjust how text displays so you can still see without coming across as angry.
2. Sarcasm can backfire
As a rule of thumb, it’s best to avoid sarcasm altogether in an online classroom. Instead, lean toward being polite and direct in the way you communicate to avoid these issues. This has happened in lots of my classes.
3. Don’t abuse the chat box
Chat boxes are incorporated into many online classes as a place for students to share ideas and ask questions related to the lesson even if the class is set on MUTE mode. It can be a helpful resource or a major distraction—it all depends on how well students know their classroom netiquette.
“Rather than asking relevant questions or giving clear answers, Treat it like the learning tool it’s meant to be, and try not to distract your classmates with off-topic discussions.
4. Set a respectful tone
Every day may feel like casual Friday in an online classroom where you don’t see anyone in person, but a certain level of formality is still expected in your communication with instructors. In addition to proper punctuation and spelling, it’s good netiquette to use respectful greetings and signatures, full sentences and even the same old “please” and “thank you” you use in real life.
5. Submit files the right way
You won’t be printing assignments and handing to them to your teacher in person, so knowing how to properly submit your work online is key to your success as an online student.
Always adhere to instructions and if I ask for your ICT assignment to be turned in via email in Docx format, you should abide to this, also I have lots of Student who tend to submit answers incomplete in a turn in mode on Google classroom, please take your time to type else where and copy and past to the section you need to submit your answers. Online course instructors often establish ground rules for file assignment submissions, like naming conventions that help them keep things organized or acceptable file formats. Ignoring these instructions is a common example of bad Netiquette.
6. Read first if you came in late
Take some time to read through each of the previous discussion post responses before writing your own response. If the original post asked a specific question, there’s a good chance someone has already answered it. Submitting an answer that is eerily similar to a classmate’s indicates to the instructor that you haven’t paid attention to the conversation thus far. So do take time to read along previous conversation in an online class.
7. Think before you type
A passing comment spoken in class can be forgotten a few minutes later, but what you share in an online classroom is part of a permanent digital record. “Whether or not privacy settings are in place, the internet has a tendency to house things forever, and what you say privately can easily become public,” advises etiquette expert Devoreaux Walton.
8. Be kind, Punctual and a good student.
Online communication comes with a level of anonymity that doesn’t exist when you’re talking to someone face-to-face. Sometimes this leads people to behave rudely when they disagree with one another. You as well have to be time cautious and as well punctual to all schedule classes. Online students probably don’t have the complete anonymity that comes with using a screen name, but you could still fall prey to treating someone poorly because of the distance between screens. Make a point to be kind and respectful in your comments—even if you disagree with someone.
9. Use a name you bear in School.
Many students give the idea of Nick naming themselves in an online class and this gives the instructor a poor view of whom you are , and as well as allocation of grades to you, so to avoid errors like this , always use your official name in an online class.
10. Participate in any requested activities.
This is only shown if you have your icon display based on the difference in technology apps used for teaching, as for Zoom, it's a must you turn on your videos so the instructor can have a better view of your attention.
Thank you.
Anthony Adesanya.
