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Founded in 1954, the Guiness Book of Record has went from just an idea for a Guinness’ promotion to selling an average of about 3.5 million books annually. The Guinness Book of World Records inspires tens of thousands of people annually to attempt record-breaking feats.
Here on this list, we have 8 out of the many Nigerians who have made it to Guinness World Record
- Tunde Onakoya: longest chess marathon of 58 hours
- Benjamin Inemugha: spinned a book for 1hr 9mins.
- Hilda Baci: cooked for 100 hours.
- Chinonso Eche: 111 ball touches in 50 sec.
- Olubayode Treasures: read for 120 mins.
- Tobi Amusan: finished 100m hurdles in 12.12s
- Adetunwase Adenle: largest painting
- Harrison Chinedu: walked 48.04km with ball on head.
Nigerians in Guinness World Record
And here we go:
1] Tunde Onakoya
Recorded Feat: The 29-year-old Onakoya suffered through physical discomfort and fatigue to break the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon when he reached the 58-hour mark in New York’s Times Square.
The previous record of 56 hours, 9 minutes, was held by Norwegian players Hallvard Haug Flatebø and Sjur Ferkingstad in 2018.
Brief Background: Tunde Onakoya is a professional chess player and coach. He’s the founder of Chess in Slums Africa, an NGO that help Nigerian turn kids turn chess moves into scholarships.
“It is possible to do great things from a small place”
– Tunde’s mantra.
2] Hilda Baci
Recorded Feat: Hilda Baci has set a new Guiness world record for the longest cooking marathon by a single individual with 100 hours of non-stop cooking. The previous record is 87 hours and 45 minutes set in Rewa, central India in 2019 by Indian chef Lata Tondon.
Brief Background: Hilda Bassey Effiong, a.k.a Hilda Baci, is a 27-year-old graduate of sociology from Madonna university Okija. She hails from Akwa-Ibom. Hilda Baci has been working on beating this World record for 5 years.
3] Benjamin Inemugha
Recorded Feat: Benjamin Inemugha spinned a book – the guiness records book – for 1 hour 9 mins and 46 seconds. After reaching this feat, he sent it to the Guinness Officials and got a response in December 2018 that he’s currently the world record holder.
Brief Background: Benjamin had thought of achieving a Guinness World record at the age of 11 and before that age, Benjamin spent most of my time with his brother learning tricks and skills he sees on the TV and at the age of 9, he’s already mastered the art of book-spinning.
As at the time Benjamin got enlisted on Guiness book, he was a 22-year old student at the University of Birmingham studying a Masters in Electrical and Electronics Engineering (MEng).
4] Chinonso Eche
Recorded feat: Chinonso compteted 111 football touches with his knee and foot in 60 seconds while a second ball was balanced on his head, earning him a place in the 2021 edition of the Guinness World Records. This was the first time it is included in the annual reference book.
Brief Background: Chinonso Eche is an indigene of Warri in southern Nigeria. He was 12-year-old in 2021 when he made it to Guiness. Chinonso was Inspired by video footage of footballers – Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, as well as the retired Nigerian midfielder Jay-Jay Okocha – his father showed him.
His dream is to become a footballer and international freestyler. Chinonso’s next target is 2,000 consecutive touches, while balancing a ball on his head.
5] OlubayodeTreasures Olawunmi
Recorded feat: Nigerian Olubayode Tresures Olawunmi read did a 120-hour reading (aloud) marathon in Lagos breaking the 113-hour record of non-stop, non-silent reading set by Indian’s Deepak Sharma Bajaan.
Brief Background: His Guinness record attempt was sponsored by Nigeria’s GT Bank as part of the GT Bank YouRead project to encourage literacy and reading across the continent. Bayode is a Lagosian, 40-year old as at the time of his win (which was in 2008).
6] Tobi Amusan
Recorded Feat: Tobi is currently the World’s fastest female hurdler after setting a record of 12.12 seconds at the 2022 World Championships in Oregon. She beat Kendra Harrison’s 2016 record of 12.20 sec.
Brief Background: Oluwatobiloba Amusan OON is a Nigerian athlete specialized in 100 metres hurdles and also competes as a sprinter. She hails from Ijebu-Ode, and has a B.Sc. in Kinesiology from the University of Texas El Paso (UTEP). Tobi Amusan is one of the few female Nigerian sport heroes.
7] Adetunwase Adenle
Recorded feat: Adetunwase holds the record for the “biggest painting” that has been painted by the largest number of people. It was the painting of the “Nigerian map”, done to commemorate Nigeria at 50.
It was painted by 350 volunteers and was said to be as large as a football field.
Brief Background: The only Nigerian to have 4 guiness record to his name, Adetunwase is a Nigerian teacher and artist. He attended Federal College of Education (Technical) Akoka where he studied Fine and Applied Art.
Adenle is the co-founder and CEO of Ecole De Dessin School of Art. He lives in Lagos, Nigeria, and is attempting to set the 5th record to touch the lives of more people and also make Nigeria proud.
8] Harrison Chinedu
Recorded feat: Harrison has to his the record for farthest distance walked with a ball on the head. He walked a total distance of 48.04 kilometers in 6 hours, 15 minutes to beat the record previously set by Indian soldier, Naib Singh, who walked 45.64km.
Brief Background: The Cambodia-based Nigerian footballer, Harrison Chinedu, trekked round the main bowl at the National stadium 11 times to break the record before trekking further 11 times to set a new record.
The Rafiu Oladipo Sports Foundation which organised the event in 2016 and also made contacts with the Guinness Book of World Records office to ensure the event took place.
Wrap Up
If you are considering setting a guinness world record, follow the steps highlighted below:
- Register for an account
- You will receive an email with an activation link. Click on the link, and you will be brought to a dashboard page.
- Click on the green ‘Apply for a record’ button.
- Search for the record that you want to break.
- When you find the record, click the ‘Apply Now’ button. If you cannot find the record you can apply for a new one by clicking ‘Apply for a new record title’ at the bottom of the page.
- Complete the application form.
Abdulbasit Toriola is an emerging voice in Nigerian cultural commentary and social analysis. From his corner in Lagos, he documents Nigerian history, current affairs, and explores the extraordinary journeys of Nigerians beating the odds. His works have been published on Africa Prime News and Opinion Nigeria. Connect with Abdulbasit on Twitter @blackboymusings for daily insights into Nigerian life and culture.
