Culture

Read-a-thon: 27-year-old Nigerian breaks world read-aloud record

Published

4 months ago

August 28, 2024

The world’s longest read-aloud marathon has been accomplished by Samson Ajao, a Nigerian from Osogbo who is 27 years old. He completed the reading aloud for a total of 215 hours, which is just one hour short of nine full days.

In the year 2022, Rysbai Isakov, who was from Kyrgyzstan, established the previous record, which was 124 hours.

For the challenger to attain this record, they need to read out loud from published works in a continuous manner, with no more than a thirty-second silence in between each item that is read.

The total number of books that Samson read was approximately one hundred, and they covered a wide range of topics, including money, sales, management, leadership, politics, health, and mental wellness.

His goal was to “inspire a reading culture” in Nigeria and to encourage the development of literacy skills through the use of this record.

The Speaker of the House of Assembly for the state of Osun, Ngozi Adeleke, and the Commissioner of Education, Dipo Eluwole, were among the many individuals who came to catch Samson’s performance during his bid to break the record.

Samson accumulated five minutes of rest time after each hour of reading, which brought his total amount of rest time per day to two hours. This was done under our standards for all “longest marathon” records. Eat, sleep, use the lavatory and change his clothes were all things that he could only do during these periods.

Samson disclosed in a recent interview that he didn’t get any sleep during his breaks.

He said: “Even when it’s tough, you have to get going to meet your target.”

Samson also revealed that he asked medical experts for advice before the attempt to set a record on what foods and beverages would help him maintain his voice and reduce the amount of bathroom breaks he would require. Samson and his followers celebrated by parading down the street after winning the “read-a-thon.”

Starting in 1987, Englishman Adrian Hilton performed the whole of Shakespeare’s works in a “bard-a-thon” spanning 110 hours 46 minutes.

After reaching a time of 113 hours 15 min, Nepal’s Deepak Sharma Bajagain won the championship in 2008; previous record holder Rysbai Isakov about 11 hours improved upon.

Now Samson’s record dwarfs those amazing achievements. Apart from being the longest marathon reading aloud worldwide, it is among the longest marathon record attempts in Guinness World Records history; only DJ Faber Moreira’s 10-day DJ-ing marathon has exceeded it recently.

Related Topics:Featured Nigeria Read-a-thon

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Culture

Moroccan doctors stage nationwide protest in ‘Week of Anger’

Published

7 hours ago

December 25, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Moroccan doctors across the country on Tuesday staged a nationwide protests in what is known as “Week of Anger,” accusing the government of ignoring their calls for reform in public healthcare.

In a public announcement on Monday, the Independent Union of Public Sector Doctors (SIMSP) said the strike action would include more walkouts from December 30 to January 5.

The SIMSP said the nationwide strike would affect all public health facilities except emergency and intensive care units to ensure that some level of care remained available.

“During this time, doctors will not be at diagnostic centres and they will also boycott administrative tasks and refuse to issue medical certificates,” the SIMSP said.

The union added that a large march is planned for December 29 in Rabat, aimed at opposing laws on strikes and pensions.

The doctors’ union noted that their demands have been ignored by the Ministry of Health.

The union stated that their requests to government has remained unanswered. It also criticized a new framework for doctors, calling it scandalous as it threatens job security and opens the door to unfair dismissals.

The doctors’ demands include extra grades for doctors beyond the current scale, higher salaries, and an end to limits on promotions.

The union also wants the government to honour agreements made in 2011, 2023, and 2024.

According to the union, the doctors are also upset with the 2025 budget plan, which they say fails to address the health sector’s funding issues, expressing concerned about plans to shift salaries from central budgets to local health groups and warning that this could lead to instability.

The union added that doctors will continue to boycott school health programmes and what they call “improvised” surgical campaigns. They insist on maintaining high medical standards while pushing for change.

Culture

Ghana’s Afua Asantewaa begins second GWR sing-a-thon attempt

Published

3 days ago

December 22, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Ghanaian singer, Afua Asantewaa, on Saturday, began her second attempt at breaking the Guinness World Record (GWR) for the longest singing marathon by an individual.

The sing-a-thon which began in the early hours of Saturday, December 21, at Heroes’ Park, Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi, will run until December 25, and will see the determined songstress perform non-stop, focusing exclusively on Ghanaian songs.

According to Asantewaa’s manager, Madam Gladys Osei Owiredu, the audacious initiative is aimed at showcasing the rich cultural heritage of Ghanaian music to a global audience.

Owiredu confirmed that preparations for the event had been extensive but expressed confidence in Asantewaa’s readiness to finally break the record.

“I can confirm that she is ready for the task ahead. It’s been challenging—by way of preparations—but I can say she is ready,” Owiredu said.

Asantewaa’s second attempt follows her first effort in December 2023, which fell short of surpassing the current record of 105 hours held by India’s Sunil Waghmare.

But despite the setback, her team remains optimistic about breaking the record this time with corporate sponsors including International Maritime Hospital, Ghana Gas, Nasco Electronics, and Zoomlion Ghana Limited rallying behind her, underscoring the importance of the attempt in amplifying the global significance of Ghanaian music.