UNILORIN Graduate Who Once Dreamt of Studying Medicine Bags PhD in Statistics Abroad, Shares Story
- Oluwayomi Akinfenwa, who initially wanted to study medicine, graduated with a First Class degree in Statistics from the University of Ilorin
- She completed a Master's degree with Distinction at AIMS Ghana and later secured a fully funded PhD opportunity with Research Ireland in 2021
- During her PhD journey, Akinfenwa developed wdiexplorer, an R package now publicly available on CRAN for analysing World Development Indicators
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Oluwayomi Akinfenwa, a Nigerian academic, received her Doctor of Philosophy degree in Statistics from Maynooth University, Ireland, on Monday, 7 September 2026, capping a years-long academic journey that began with an entirely different dream.
As a teenager, Akinfenwa had set her sights on medicine. That path never materialised, and after a prolonged wait for university admission, she enrolled to study Statistics at the University of Ilorin in Nigeria instead. What started as a pivot became a passion.
From Ilorin to Ireland
She graduated with a First Class Bachelor's degree in Statistics from the University of Ilorin, a result that opened the door to the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences in Ghana (AIMS Ghana), where she completed a Master's degree with Distinction in Mathematical Sciences.
In 2021, a fully funded PhD opportunity through Research Ireland's Centre for Research Training in Foundations of Data Science brought her to Maynooth University. The road, however, was far from smooth.
She wrote in a LinkedIn post:
"There were days of uncertainty, frustration, failed code, results that made no sense, manuscripts that needed rewriting, and moments when finishing the PhD felt much further away than it should have."
A PhD Focused on Making Data Understandable
Akinfenwa's doctoral research centred on country-level panel data and Bayesian hierarchical models, with a focus on making complex statistical outputs more accessible and interpretable. She worked with longitudinal development indicators, exploring how visualisation tools could help researchers identify patterns, trends, and group differences that would otherwise remain buried in numbers.
As part of the research, she developed [wdiexplorer](https://lnkd.in/dki3Q5_r), an R package designed to support the exploratory analysis and visualisation of World Development Indicators. The package incorporates diagnostic measures and interactive visualisations, and is now publicly available on CRAN.
She also proposed a set of visualisation principles for Bayesian hierarchical model estimates, aimed at helping researchers move beyond simply reporting summary statistics and instead communicate uncertainty, hierarchical structure, and modelling choices more clearly.
Akinfenwa said she hopes to continue exploring the use of visualisation alongside statistical modelling to support better understanding of development data, and expressed openness to collaborating with researchers working on related questions.
Colleagues and Connections Celebrate Her Achievement
The LinkedIn post drew warm congratulations from her network on LinkedIn.
Opeyemi Oyenekan said:
"This is a beautiful story! Congratulations!!"
Nsikakabasi George said:
"Big congratulations to you Dr. Oluwayomi Akinfenwa, PhD 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾. All the best in your career endeavours."
Hassan Ajulo said:
"Congratulations, Oluwayomi Akinfenwa, PhD! Wishing you continued professional success."
In a related story, UNILAG's best graduating student shared how he was rejected by the University of Ibadan, while another graduate staged a one-man protest over unemployment.
LASU BGS shares admission experience
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the Lagos State University's (LASU) best graduating student opened up about her admission experience.
In an insightful interview with Legit.ng, the young lady shared her admission struggle, experience in school, and future goals.
Source: Legit.ng
