What inspired you to attempt the Guinness World Record for the longest marathon reading aloud, and how did you stay motivated throughout the 215-hour challenge?
I regard reading books as my secret to seeing familiar things in a new light. Knowing very well that education is the tool for personal and societal growth, such should be encouraged in our society. I want to inspire others to cultivate the habit of reading, so I thought of a global platform where I can motivate people to imbibe the reading culture and be aware that there is no boundary to human potential. That’s why I took up the challenge to break the Guinness World Record for the Longest Marathon Reading Aloud, in acknowledgement of its rich history of celebrating the enduring success of the written words and developing literacy development around the world. It’s a world platform, and I am sure my achievement has impacted the life of the people positively and encouraged them to read for change. The journey was a great adventure. Although it was tough, it was not boring. I enjoyed the moment as I came across different ideas in the books that I was reading. It was physically tiring and I did experience different pains all over my body. I stayed motivated with my positive mindset, and the cheers from the crowd kept me going.
How did the African cultural heritage, particularly storytelling and oral traditions, influence your love for reading and the determination to break this record?
In my childhood, we would always have a night session where the elders would tell us stories of African cultural heritage and oral traditions. Most times, they would ask us questions about our African heritage and it was always a fair competition where the winners won prizes. So, if you wanted to stand out, you would need to prepare before the night session and this spurred me to develop an interest in reading books. Additionally, the success stories of African writers such as Professor Wole Soyinka and Professor Chinua Achebe; and Professor Wole Soyinka in particular, whose literary works earned him the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986, making him the first African to receive the award. Their success hugely inspired and motivated me to read widely and to also do something outstanding that would put Nigeria and Africa on the world map.
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EduTimes Africa, a product of Education Times Africa, is a magazine publication that aims to lend its support to close the yawning gap in Africa's educational development.
