The Vice Chancellor of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko (AAUA), Professor Olugbenga Ige, has commended the remarkable feat of nine members of staff who have earned global recognition by being ranked among the top two per cent of academic researchers in the world.
The nine scholars were listed in the prestigious 2024 Elsevier–Stanford Global Ranking of Top Scientists, recently released. This achievement once again affirms AAUA’s distinguished place on the international academic and research map.
Professor Ige described the milestone as a resounding testament to the University’s unwavering commitment to quality research and global relevance. He stressed that the accomplishment would further inspire staff and students to pursue excellence in scholarship, while reinforcing AAUA’s reputation as one of Nigeria’s pace-setting universities where world-class research thrives.
According to him, the recognition, based on rigorous metrics including research impact, citation indices and global scholarly contributions, underscores the University’s growing influence in cutting-edge research and innovation. He added that the honourees, who span diverse fields, reflect AAUA’s strong tradition of academic excellence and interdisciplinary advancement.
Among the AAUA researchers recognised was Professor Sunday Olatunji, with 129 publications indexed in Scopus and the Web of Science. He was specially commended for his pioneering application of machine learning and artificial intelligence to solve real-life challenges in science, engineering and the humanities. Professor Olatunji, currently Dean of Computing, was earlier named by the National Universities Commission (NUC) as Nigeria’s best Artificial Intelligence researcher for 2025. His scholarly record includes over 157 publications on Google Scholar, 3,992 citations, an h-index of 34 and an i10-index of 93.
Others who made the ranking include Professor Nurudeen Oladoja with 121 publications, Professor Adeleke Ashogbon with 22 publications, Dr Taiwo Agbede with 51 publications, Dr Taoreed Owolabi with 97 publications, Dr Abayomi Oke with 31 publications, Dr Andrew Falowo with 31 publications, Dr Oluwatobi Oyeneyin with 54 publications and Dr Damilola Omoboyowa with 50 publications. Their works, indexed in Scopus, the world-renowned abstract and citation database, further highlight the calibre of scholarship emanating from AAUA.
The global ranking, produced by Stanford University in collaboration with Elsevier, identified 233 Nigerian scientists among the top two per cent worldwide. Drawing on the Scopus database, it assessed over 8.5 million active scientists across 22 major fields and 176 subfields, ultimately recognising 190,000 as leaders in their disciplines.
The evaluation process, which focuses on key academic metrics such as research impact and citation performance, provides a comprehensive overview of each scientist’s career achievements and recent contributions. The Stanford–Elsevier ranking is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious benchmarks in global academia.
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