THE LONGEST MARATHON ATTEMPT BY A NIGERIAN MAN WILL BE RESTARTED

Following some technical difficulties, Nigerian John Obot will restart his bid to break the Guinness World Record for the longest marathon reading aloud, the organizers announced on Tuesday.

By Monday night, Mr. Obot, a teacher from Akwa Ibom State, had already spent over 50 hours reading aloud from a range of novels. He was supposed to read for six days when he started on September 9.

He aims to break Rysbai Isakov of Kyrgyzstan’s existing record of 124 hours in Bursa, Turkey, set in September 2022.

“Unfortunately, we faced some technical challenges that prevented us from recording and authenticating this historic event due to equipment/power failure. We have made the painful decision to start over in order to maintain the greatest degree of integrity and make sure that every participant’s work is accurately documented, said Udeme Nana, founder of Uyo Book Club and the exercise’s primary program director, in a statement.

Mr. Nana claimed that Guinness World Records had been made aware of the situation and had given their approval for the reading challenge “Readmania” to resume on Tuesday, September 12, at 1 p.m. at the same location (a tiny hall within a hotel in Uyo).

Several dignitaries have supported Mr. Obot in his bid to beat the world record, including Patience Eno, the first lady of Akwa Ibom State, who came to the room, sat down, and listened as he read from several books.

Among the works Mr. Obot has read aloud so far are 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, and Animal Farm by George Orwell.