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By John Ogunsemore
A Nigerian man, Samson Ajao, has shattered the world’s marathon reading aloud record.
The Guiness World Records confirmed Ajao’s feat in a post on its website on Wednesday.
The 27-year-old Ajao clocked 215 hours, one hour short of nine full days, to break the previous record of 124 hours set in 2022 by Rysbai Isakov from Kyrgyzstan.
According to GWR, a challenger must read aloud continuously from published works, with no more than a 30-second pause between items being read, to achieve the record.
The GWR said Ajao
accumulated five minutes of rest time after each hour of reading, totalling two hours per day.
Only during these breaks could he eat, sleep, use the bathroom or change his clothes.
The Osogbo, Osun State-based record breaker read 100 books in total, covering subjects like finance, sales, management, leadership, politics, health and mental wellness.
Ajao said he attempted the record to promote literacy development and “inspire a reading culture” in Nigeria.
His record-breaking attempt received widespread support in Osun, with notable figures like Osun State House of Assembly Speaker, Ngozi Adeleke and Education Commissioner Dipo Eluwole, visiting the venue to show solidarity.
