Runways Abroad, Lecture Halls at Home: The Many Lives of Tobiloba Momoh

By  Success Essien, Jacinta Emeka, Similoluwa Akinboyo

When Tobiloba Momoh was younger, she used to sneak her mother’s phone just to watch fashion shows on YouTube. The faces on the runway looked familiar to her. They looked like her. Somewhere between stolen screen time and quiet conviction, she made a promise to herself: one day, she would be there, too.

Today, she is a supermodel with international experience. Tobiloba is a 200-level student of Mass Communication at the University of Lagos (UNILAG). And if you run into her on campus, you are just as likely to spot her with a bowl of homemade food as you are to recognise her as a runway model.

A striking blend of elegance and enterprise, she balances life as an international model with running her own food business, selling neatly packed, home-cooked meals that reflect her passion beyond the spotlight.

Her journey into modelling was never casual. From the moment she realised it was something she wanted, she pursued it with intention, even though she knew it was not the kind of profession most Nigerian parents would immediately approve of. She did not announce it with confidence at first. The conversation with family came later, after she had been scouted and her career began to take shape. By then, the results spoke louder than fear.

Behind the glamour people see online, Tobiloba is quick to point out the reality of the profession. Most of the images people admire are unpaid editorials or collaborations. Only a fraction of the work actually comes with financial reward. The idea that models “have it all figured out” is, in her words, far from the truth.

Modelling, she explains, is a demanding and often brutal space. It requires discipline, restraint, and a constant negotiation of identity. For her, faith has been the anchor. In an industry she

describes as filled with temptation and pressure, she has remained grounded by consciously holding on to who she is and what she believes. Every decision, from the jobs she takes to the environments she steps into, is filtered through that grounding.

But the cost has not been invisible. Modelling has taken a toll on her mental health. Despite being perceived as bold and fearless, she admits to anxiety, intimidation, and moments of self-doubt. Fame, she says, magnifies everything. It changes how you see the world and how the world looks back at you. What has kept her steady is humility. No matter where she is or who she is with, she tries to remain conscious of herself.

One of the boldest decisions of her life came early. After winning Elite Model Look in 2017, her career accelerated rapidly. International travel became frequent. Nigeria became occasional. School, suddenly, became impossible to balance.

She made the difficult choice to drop out of secondary school in SS1.

It was a decision that strained family relationships and placed her at the centre of uncomfortable conversations. But she followed what she believed was necessary at the time. She travelled, worked, learned, and saw the industry firsthand in places like Italy. Years later, she returned to school, restarted from SS1, finished, and eventually gained admission into UNILAG.

Her academic journey, like her career, has not been linear.

Even now, balancing school and modelling remains complex. She admits she still does not have it all figured out. Sometimes she turns down smaller jobs to focus on academics. Other times, when a major opportunity comes along, she negotiates time away from school. She once nearly missed her WAEC registration while working abroad. What has helped her survive is financial independence and flexibility, the ability to pause one space without completely abandoning the other.

Despite her international exposure, campus life has not changed her sense of self. In class, she is simply a student. She attends lectures regularly. She relates freely with coursemates. She jokes, plays, and blends in. Many students know her not just as a model, but as “Chef Tomes,” the student who sells food on campus.

Cooking, for her, is not beneath modelling. It is simply another expression of who she is.

She is deliberate about separating her worlds. On set, she behaves like a model. On campus, she behaves like a student. Fame, she insists, has never changed how she treats people, even if it has changed how some people see her.

In the modelling industry, intimidation is constant. She recalls being bullied by older models for wearing affordable brands like Zara or Fashion Nova. The comments were direct, not whispered. But instead of shrinking, she chose perspective. She wears what she can afford with pride and encourages younger models to do the same. To her, authenticity matters more than appearances. Pretending to have what you do not, she says, eventually collapses.

One moment that reshaped how she saw herself happened on a runway for a jewellery brand’s debut show. After the show, she met the renowned designer Lisa Folawiyo, who took time to speak with her, compliment her work, and offer advice. Being noticed by someone she admired was validating in a way no applause could replicate.

Academically, Tobiloba is ambitious. She is currently on a second-class upper and openly aiming for a first-class by graduation. Beyond grades, she hopes her story will reflect discipline and determination. She believes many people underestimate the power of deciding firmly on a goal and pursuing it relentlessly.

In the coming years, she envisions growth in every direction, career expansion, academic success, financial stability, and confidence. She laughs about arriving on campus in a luxury car someday, but beneath the humour is clarity. She knows where she is going.

For Tobiloba, identity is not singular. She is a student. She is a model. She is a businesswoman. She is still becoming. And somewhere between lecture halls and runways, she is writing a story that refuses to fit into one box.