A professional teacher from Akwa Ibom State, Mr. John Obot is set to break the 124-hour world record for the longest marathon reading aloud by an individual.
Although NTA Network News reported on its Facebook page that Obot has broke the record set by Rysbai Isakov in Bursa, Turkey last September, neither the station nor other media sites stated how many hours the Nigerian teacher had read for.
By 5 pm on Saturday, Obot had hit 100 hours of reading. He is said to be hoping to reach 145 hours on Monday. The exercise that is ongoing in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, and is expected to end at about 1 am on Tuesday.
Among a variety of books – mostly Nigerian literature – which Obot is reading The Letterman: Inside the ‘Secret’ Letters of former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo, authored by PREMIUM TIMES’ Editor-in-Chief, Musikilu Mojeed.
He would have probably reached his target by now if he had not, on 12 September, restarted his attempt after hitting his first 50 hours.
The restart was caused by “some equipment/power failure leading to technical issues”, according to the organisers of the reading exercise.
The effort has received the support of many Nigerians, including former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Udom Emmanuel.
“John’s determination to achieve this feat for our nation and of course our dear state, Akwa Ibom, despite the challenges epitomises the resilient and ‘never-say-die spirit’ for which the people of Akwa Ibom State and Nigerians at large are known”, Emmanuel said in a message he posted on X (formerly Twitter), on Sunday morning.
The former governor called on Nigerians to support Obot, who is reading in a small hall in a hotel in Uyo where several people have been stopping by to show solidarity.
Akwa Ibom First Lady, Mrs Patience Eno; the state’s Commissioner for Information, Mr. Ini Ememobong; a House of Representatives member from the state, Hon. Clement Jimbo; a former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Onofiok Luke, and the chairperson of the Nigeria Union of Journalists in the state, Mr. Amos Etuk, are among the dignitaries who have visited the hotel to witness the reading.
The marathoner said the exercise was meant “to draw attention to the fast declining reading culture, especially among Nigerian youths, and as a way of encouraging authors to continue their art of writing”.
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe; Civil War Child by Nestor Udoh; Ibibio Nation: History and Culture by Oto-Obong Uwah; Eze Goes to School by Michael Crowder and Onuora Nzekwu; The Crumb Eaters by Martin Akpan, and Animal Farm by George Orwell are among the books Obot has read aloud so far.
