About

Tobiloba Akibo is a registered Landscape Architect and member of SLAN (Society of Landscape Architects in Nigeria). She is a graduate of the University of Lagos and is currently working as a freelance Landscape Architect while exploring Landscape Preservation and how Landscape Architecture styles evolved in post-colonial Nigeria.

Tobiloba's YLAA Journey

Who has been your most influential mentor or role model and what key thing did you learn from them?

See one, do one, teach one.

My most influential mentor and role model is Dr. Tunji Adejumo, a past president of IFLA Africa, he was my lecturer and project supervisor, so I was opportune to work closely with him and learn a lot about his design philosophy and ethos. While in school, his emphasis on using real world examples to teach, helped prepare us for life after school. Even after leaving school, I have endeavored to spend as much time soaking up his wealth of knowledge. With my interest in Historic landscapes, which is a core competence of his, his mentorship has helped with navigating the terrain.

One of the most important things I’ve learnt from him and working with him is the desire and will to mentor, as a lecturer he has a lot of students under his wing that he has taken time and resources to teach, he always reminds us that mentoring is a great way to discover yourself, because it is in teaching that you become passionate about what you do which in turn makes you a master. His passion and drive about Landscape Architecture is a guiding beacon for me.