American-born actress, Miesha Hilliard, better known as Ebony Mystique who was born on November 23, 1984 has broken silence on her life’s journey and career with fleshbot media.
“In high school, I went to a few. My mom raised me in New Haven, Connecticut and part time in White Plains, New York for my grade and middle school years and fit in more with my inner city Brooklyn, New York and Newhallville, Connecticut. I guess I had a problem with the rules of school. I was always well dressed, known as one of ‘the pretty chocolate girls with the long hair’ and well known probably because I went to a couple of schools, a behavioral alternative school, then hit my high school diploma at continuation school. I hung out with people like me, fashion savvy, funny, risk takers and money-driven kids. I dated guys who were older and could pick me up from school,” she began
“Before getting into the industry, I never really cared to watch pornography. I mean, sneaking on pay per view after hours. When I was a teenybopper it felt a lot different when things wer at your leisure. Boogie Nights was one of my favorite movies but I knew about porn stars the social way, legends that made it beyond the industry and did bigger things in the mainstream industry. So I always respected stars like Vanessa Del Rio, Tera Patrick, Jenna Jameson, Pinkyxxx.”
When asked who her favourite performer is, that she had worked with so far and why.
She replied: “To be honest, everybody has been pretty cool. Sometimes, it is still to my surprise some have even said they’ve been fans of my work, so I’m not going to say just one person is my fave. I have a few porn boyfriends though. My fans know who they are.”
“I didn’t realize I’m on Twitter that much but I love my fans. They became a real gang for me, support me emotionally and financially, she added
The Nigerian fashion sector has undergone a number of advancements in the last 10 years, which have attracted attention from around the world to its enormous potential.
Nigerian fashion firms are now more numerous than ever and offer distinctive items that stand out from the crowd.
Like everything else in Nigeria, a sizable portion of our culture is deeply ingrained in our fashion, from locally produced fabric to apparel inspired by old-school Nigerian shops.
One key thing that stands out for many Nigerian fashion brands is sustainability, as many Nigerian designers are consciously focused on creating ethical and environmentally friendly businesses.
The increase in the availability of fashion brands in Nigeria has provided a variety of options for customers and created more employment opportunities.
We’ve compiled a list of five made in Nigeria fashion brands that prioritise sustainability and credibility.
1. Hoodies and Stones
Hoodies and Stones founded by Fadipe Adedamola, O. plans to deviate from the norm of wearing plain jeans with shirts.
Matter of fact, should there ever be the desire to own or wear any of these clothes, we want our customers to experience the thrill of having an outfit with the African touch.
This not only provides customer satisfaction but it also solves the problem of the African culture going into extinction. The mission therefore is to sell Africa to the world through fashion
2. Shop Ayora
Shop Ayora is a Nigerian made, custom and ready to wear brand located in Lagos, Nigeria.
The majority of their clothes are made from adire fabric and the Ayora brand is focused on reducing their carbon footprints by providing sustainable fashion pieces that can stand the test of time.
3. Peridot
Peridot is a minimalist ready to wear brand made in Nigeria.
Their pieces feature distinct prints and patterns while incorporating traditional Nigerian designs such as Kaftans and Ankara fabric. Peridot priorities timeless premium pieces created for the stylish woman.
4. Melia By Jade
Melia By Jade is a clothing brand that creates ready to wear female clothing made from Adire, batik, tie-dye and Kampala.
The brand incorporates old vintage art into contemporary fashion pieces for the modern woman.
5. NyosiNyosi is a Nigerian based fashion brand located in Lagos concerned with aesthetically complementing the everyday woman.
The brand works with a range of materials, including tie-dye to create wearable, casual yet stylish pieces.
On a Monday morning in a bustling Lagos office, a manager scans his dashboard. It is not a simple attendance sheet. Instead, it offers a live forecast of who in her department might need new skills within the next year, which roles could face automation risk, and which high-potential employees might be ready for promotion. The predictions are drawn from thousands of data points, including performance reviews, project histories and training records, all processed in real time by an AI-powered human resource system.
This scene is not science fiction. It is already happening, according to a new research by Derrick Afriyie, HR Change Management Analyst at the British Council in Accra, the Ghanaian capital. In a study published in the World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, Afriyie lays out a vision of the workplace where algorithms, agile feedback loops, and digital HR platforms have become core business tools, while employee trust and data protection have emerged as equally critical priorities.
“In the near future, talent strategy and digital strategy will be indistinguishable,” Afriyie says. “Organisations that thrive will be the ones that anticipate change, adapt in real time, and keep trust at the center of their operations.”
His research shows that integrated digital HR infrastructures are no longer just administrative support systems. Hosted in the cloud and powered by real-time analytics, these platforms consolidate performance tracking, career development pathways, compliance monitoring, and workforce planning into a single intelligent ecosystem. Executives can see a live portrait of workforce health, including who is excelling, who is struggling, where skill gaps are opening, and how external market shifts might affect talent supply.
Yet the same systems that deliver these insights hold vast stores of sensitive employee information, making data governance a defining challenge. Afriyie warns that without strict classification protocols, clear consent management, and region-specific compliance measures, even the most advanced HR platforms can lose the confidence of both regulators and staff. His recommendations include tiered data access with categories such as public, internal, confidential, and restricted, mandatory encryption for sensitive files such as pay and medical records, and privacy dashboards tailored for local laws in each country where a company operates.
The research also identifies one of the most striking cultural shifts in modern work, which is the decline of the annual performance review. For decades, these year-end appraisals defined employee evaluation. But in a fast-changing economy, waiting twelve months to give feedback or discuss career growth is operationally unsound. Many organisations are moving towards continuous, agile feedback in the form of weekly or monthly check-ins tied to specific projects or sprints. Digital tools now integrate with workplace applications like Slack or Outlook, sending prompts for managers to hold regular conversations. These systems encourage peer recognition alongside managerial input, turning performance management into an ongoing coaching process rather than a once-a-year judgment.
“Workforce planning is no longer about counting heads. It is about predicting, adapting, and protecting talent in real time,” the researcher says.
Artificial intelligence plays a central role in this transformation. By analysing structured performance data, project histories, and even the sentiment in feedback, machine learning models can group employees by skill similarity, detect vulnerabilities in talent pipelines, and forecast supply-demand mismatches under various scenarios such as automation or new market entry. Natural language processing resumes, job postings, and internal feedback to create skill heat maps that reveal strengths and weaknesses across departments or regions.
Afriyie offers a practical example. A junior analyst with growing technical skills in SQL and Tableau might be flagged as a strong candidate for a business intelligence role. The system could then suggest specific online courses, assign a mentor, and arrange shadowing opportunities, effectively creating a personalised career pathway aligned with both the employee’s aspirations and the company’s strategic needs.
Analytics also help reveal when performance gaps are not the result of poor individual effort but outdated job roles. If several employees in the same position underperform despite training, predictive models may identify the role itself as misaligned with current business needs, prompting a redesign of responsibilities to match emerging demands from automation, hybrid work, or regulatory changes.
To illustrate the practical impact of these strategies, Afriyie’s research turns to industry-specific examples. In manufacturing, predictive workforce planning tools identify job families most susceptible to automation and match those employees to reskilling programs that prepare them for new roles such as smart factory maintenance or supply chain planning. By simulating different redeployment scenarios, companies can ensure production remains stable while preserving decades of institutional knowledge.
In financial services, where compliance is critical, predictive monitoring tools scan early warning signs in sensitive roles like risk officers and auditors. These systems might detect patterns such as delays in decision-making, shifts in communication tone, or frequent deviations from policy. Rather than penalizing employees, these alerts trigger mentoring, training, or job rotations designed to prevent burnout and safeguard ethical performance.
While Afriyie is optimistic about the potential of AI and predictive analytics to make workforce planning more accurate and equitable, he is also clear about the risks. Algorithmic bias, digital fatigue, and ethical blind spots could undermine progress if left unchecked. He calls for explainable AI in HR, which means systems that offer transparent reasoning for decisions, especially in high-stakes cases like promotions, layoffs, or leadership appointments. Ethical frameworks must evolve alongside cultural contexts, and predictive tools must integrate with other business systems to form a unified “talent intelligence” layer.
The study closes with a future-focused outlook. As automation advances, markets shift, and regulations tighten, the organisations that excel will be those that weave together people, processes, and platforms into an intelligent, responsive whole. Workforce planning, Afriyie insists, has moved from a quiet back-office activity to a strategic conversation in the boardroom, one that shapes the future direction and resilience of the enterprise.
A non-governmental organisation Patriotic Alliance for National Development (PAND) has organised what it termed “A Democracy Walk” in Abeokuta as the 2019 general elections draw nearer.
The walk, termed 2018 Democracy Day, with the theme “Strengthening Nigeria’s Democracy Through the Ballot,” was aimed at sensitizing the youth and galvanize their engagement towards participation in the forthcoming elections.
The Lead Volunteer, Muhammed Moshood while addressing hundreds of volunteers and citizens, noted that they were organizing the exercise to commemorate the country’s yearly democratic celebration.
He added that his group was committed to drawing more people to participate in the forthcoming elections, adding that representatives of the organisation from Oyo, Cross River and a few other states joined the
Moshood added that PAND had entered into a partnership with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the 2019 general elections draw nearer. He noted that the forthcoming election was important, and there was a need to galvanize the youth and women in ensuring an impressive turnout during the polls.
PAND’s Lead Volunteer added that the organisation was keen on working with INEC around sensitization and election monitoring, noting that they were looking to work with various stakeholders along political and civil societies.
