By BlackBox Nigeria
In a year marked by economic uncertainty, political tension, security challenges and social crisis, Nigerians again proved their ingenuity, resilience and continuous growth on the global stage. From the international entertainment scene to sporting arenas, finance and governance, Nigerians left an indelible mark in the record books to global accolade.
Black Box Nigeria brings you 25 of such feats to celebrate the end of 2025.
1. Abdul Jabar Adama: First Nigerian to win a swimming medal at World Championships
17-year-old Abdul Jabal Adama won a silver medal in the 50m butterfly category at the World Aquatics Junior Swimming Championships making him the first ever Nigerian to win a swimming medal at a world championship event.
2. Ayra Starr: First Nigerian Woman to win BET Award for Best International Act
Ayra Starr became the first female Nigerian musician to win the BET Best International Act at the 2025 BET Awards in Los Angeles beating nominees from across the world.
3. Burna Boy: First Nigerian Artiste to get seven consecutive Grammys nominations
Burna Boy became the first Nigerian artiste to receive Grammy nominations for seven consecutive years and the first to earn five global music album nominations. He has gotten 13 nominations in total with a win. 
4. Burna Boy: First African artiste to Sell out Stade De France
Burna Boy in 2025 became the first African artiste to sell out the 80,000-capacity Stade de France in Paris, a landmark achievement for African music.
5. Davido: First African Artiste to Reach 17 million followers on X
Davido set a social media record by becoming the first African musician to amass 17 million followers on X formerly known as Twitter, reflecting his massive global influence.
6. Davido: First Afrobeats artiste to Perform at World Cup and AFCON
Davido became the first Afrobeats artiste to perform at the FIFA World Cup (Qatar ‘22) and AFCON (2025) opening ceremonies. He is the second African musician to have done this after Femi Kuti.
7. Folashade Oluwafemiayo: Para powerlifting Record
Para-powerlifter, Folashade Oluwafemiayo broke the world records in her 68kg category at the World Powerlifting Championships in Egypt.
She lifted a record 168kg to lift gold beating her previous World Record of 167kg thereby reinforcing Nigeria’s dominance in para sports and adaptive athletics.
8. Funke Akindele: First Nigerian Filmmaker to produce Nollywood’s Five highest Grossing Movies of all time
Box office Queen, Funke Akindele returned with another blockbuster; Behind The Scenes which quickly sold over a billion naira at the cinemas making Funke Akindele the producer of highest-grossing movies in Nollywood history, redefining commercial success in African cinema.
9. George Essien: Longest Marathon hosting a radio show
Nigerian radio host, George Essien known to listeners as Mighty George celebrated his 20 years on radio by broadcasting for more than four days to break the record of longest marathon radio show. He hosted his radio talk show for 105 hours to claim the Guinness World Record.
10. Helen William: Guinness Record for Tallest Wig in the world
Wig making multiple record holder, Helen Williams again made history by creating the tallest wig in the world. Helen made a wig taller than a three story building to add to her previous five Guinness World Record. She previously held the record for the world’s longest handmade wig at 1,152 ft 5 in and the widest wig at 11 ft 11 in.
11. Hilda Baci— largest Jollof Rice Pot
Celebrity chef, Hilda Baci returned to record breaking mode when she delivered the ‘largest serving of Nigerian jollof rice’.
Hilda cooked 8,780KG rice in nine hours to produce 16,600 plates of Jollof rice.
She is now a two time Guiness World Record champion.
12. Joshua Olusanya: Guinness World Record for Longest Marathon playing Trumpet
Nigerian musician, Joshua Olusanya played his trumpet for 25 hours, 30 minutes and 25 seconds to make a Guinness Record. Joshua aimed at this feat to “advocate for the recognition of instrumental musicians, promote music education, and inspire talents worldwide to chase their dreams relentlessly.”
13. Kanyinsola Ajayi: First Nigerian in 18 years to reach 100m final at Word Championship
Kanyinsola Ajayi made history by reaching the men’s 100m final at the world athletics championship in Tokyo making him the first Nigerian man to do so in 18 years. He also broke the Meeting International Sotteville-lès-Rouen 100m record after running a personal best of 9.92 seconds.
14. Nathaniel Ezekiel— National Record in 400m hurdles
Nigeria’s new sprint king, Nathaniel Ezekiel broke every Nigerian record available in 2025. He broke Nigeria’s 400m hurdles record six times and set a new African indoor record of 44.92 secs making him the only African to have ran less than 45secs.
At the World Championships, Nathaniel made it to the final making him the first Nigerian to achieve the feat in 37years.
15. Nigeria: Exit from IMF Debtors’ List
In a rather suprising turn, Nigeria paid off every penny owed the International Monetary Fund in a drive by President Tinubu’s administration to prove fiscal prudence.
Nigeria paid off her loan in its entirety to be delisted from the IMF debtors list which currently has about 90 countries.
16. Olamide: First African Rapper to Sell out London’s OVO Arena
Olamide broke new grounds as the first African rapper to sell out London’s OVO Arena, affirming the global appeal to his music and the continuous growth of Afrobeats.
Olamide performed hits after hits before a fully packed OVO Arena of 12,500 revellers.
17. Owolabi Salis: First Nigerian in Space
Lagos born politician, Owolabi Salis etched his name in history by becoming the first Nigerian to travel to space.
The former Lagos gubernatorial hopeful flew aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard NS-33 mission alongside 5 others crossing the Kármán line; globally recognized boundary of space.
18. Oyin Olugbile: Nigerian Prize for Literature
Oyin Olugbile made headlines when she won the prestigious 2025 Nigeria Prize for Literature for her debut novel Sanya, taking home the $100,000 award.
19. Rashidi Ladoja: First Former Governor to become Olubadan
Senator Rashidi Ladoja made history as the first democratically elected former governor to ascend a traditional throne when he was crowned the Olubadan of Ibadan. He is also the sole surviving former governor of Oyo state.
20. Rema: Only African Featured on Time’s Influential Rising Stars
Rema emerged as the only African artiste featured on TIME magazine’s List of the 100 Leaders Shaping the Future, highlighting Afrobeats’ global momentum. With multiple record sales and award wins, Rema remains unstoppable.
21. Simply Tacha: Guinness World Record for Longest Make-overs
Reality TV star Anita Natacha Akide set double world records for the longest makeup application marathon in Lagos, Nigeria.
Tacha initially broke the record for most cosmetic makeovers in 8 hours but kept going until she secured another record of 24 hours with 144 models.
22. Temidayo Isaiah Oniosun: Egusi mission to Space
Nigerian scientist, Temidayo Isaiah Oniosun made history as the first person to send an African crop to space. The founder of Space in Africa sent Nigeria’s staple crop, Egusi (melon seeds) into space aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to study the behaviour of seeds in microgravity.
23. Tobi Amusan: Maintained global dominance
World Record holder, Tobi Amusan continued her global run when she returned to winning ways at the World Championships in Tokyo where she earned a silver. Earlier in the year, Amusan won the Diamond League in Rabat and the Golden Spike in Ostrava.
24. Tunde Onakoya: Longest Marathon Chess
Nigerian chess master and founder of chess in Slums Africa, Tunde Onakoya broke the Guinness world record for the longest chess marathon, playing 473 games with American chess master, Shawn Martinez for 64 continuous hours in Time Square, New York.
25. Wizkid: First African to Hit 20 billion global Streams
Award winning superstar, Wizkid crossed 20 billion global streams, cementing his legacy as one of Africa’s most commercially successful musicians.
Wizkid also recorded several wins including being the ‘Most streamed African artiste on Apple music’, ‘Most streamed album’ as well as ‘Most played song on Nigerian radio’.
In 2025, Nigerians didn’t just break records, they set global standards and everyone is hopeful that 2026 will be even greater!
