By Habeeb Ibrahim
Nigeria has produced Guinness World Records holders across music, entertainment, cooking, art, broadcasting, fashion, sports and other fields, with the country recording a fresh wave of achievements in recent years.
Although Guinness World Records does not publish an official figure for the total number of records held by Nigerians, its database contains numerous titles achieved by Nigerian individuals, teams and organisations both in Nigeria and abroad.
One of the notable early Nigerian entries is Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti, who Guinness World Records lists for releasing 46 studio albums as a solo artist during his career.
Nigeria’s record-breaking presence later expanded into dance, football freestyle and other entertainment categories.
In 2006, dancer Kafayat Shafau-Ameh, popularly known as Kaffy, was associated with a 55-hour, 40-minute dance marathon in Lagos, an achievement that became one of the country’s early high-profile record attempts.
Nigerian football freestylers have also established several records. Chukwuebuka Ezugha and members of his freestyle academy have recorded achievements involving football control and freestyle techniques.
The country’s most prominent recent record-breaking period began in 2023 after chef Hilda Baci completed a cooking marathon lasting 93 hours and 11 minutes in Lagos.
Although that cooking marathon record was later broken, the attempt generated significant interest in Guinness World Records in Nigeria. Guinness World Records said it received more than 1,500 new record applications from Nigeria within two months of Baci’s attempt.
Baci later returned to the record books in September 2025 alongside Gino Nigeria after producing 8,780 kilogrammes of Nigerian-style jollof rice in Victoria Island, Lagos.
Other Nigerians also entered the record books in 2023 and 2024.
Helen Williams created a handmade wig measuring 351.28 metres in 2023, setting the record for the longest handmade wig.
In 2024, artist Fola David-Tolaram created a drawing measuring 1,004.7 square metres in Lagos, setting the record for the largest drawing by an individual.
Clara Chizoba Kronborg conducted interviews for 55 hours and 24 seconds, setting the record for the longest interviewing marathon.
Oside Oluwole, known as Khoded, played a soccer video game for 75 hours to establish the longest videogame marathon playing a soccer game.
Chidinma Modupe Okafor completed a 72-hour crocheting marathon in Lagos, while Samson Ajao read aloud for 215 hours to set the record for the longest marathon reading aloud by an individual.
Munachimso Brian Nwana also visited 150 fast-food restaurants in 24 hours in Abuja, establishing a Guinness World Records title in the process.
The record-breaking activity continued into 2025.
Tunde Onakoya completed a 64-hour chess marathon in Times Square, New York, while Joshua Olusanya played the trumpet continuously for 25 hours, 30 minutes and 36 seconds to establish the longest marathon playing the trumpet.
George Iniabasi Essien hosted a radio talk show for 105 hours in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, setting the record for the longest marathon hosting a radio talk show.
Shehu Bamidele played pool for 98 hours, 26 minutes and 37 seconds in Lagos, while Ibitoye Kingfahd, popularly known as Faddothegreat, performed a 50-hour magic show in Lagos.
A Nigerian team comprising John J. Obot, Keturah Heman, Stephen A. Oyelami, Preciouslight I. Ukachi and Temitope Ogunremi also spent 431 hours, 31 minutes and 25 seconds reading aloud, setting the longest marathon reading aloud by a team.
In 2026, Nigerians continued to add new records.
Joshua Babatunde Aiyenuro, known as T-Jos Signature, completed a 72-hour professional hairdressing marathon in Nasarawa State, setting the record for the longest professional hairdressing marathon.
Chiggy Chiagorom conducted 101 television interviews within 12 hours in Enugu, surpassing the previous record of 43 interviews.
The School of Eloquence in Lagos also completed a 480-hour speech marathon by a team between April 1 and April 21, 2026.
The latest major Nigerian record attempt came from Nollywood with the screening of Black Market at Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos, on September 26, 2026.
The screening was organised as an attempt to break the Guinness World Records title for the largest attendance at a film screening.
The previous record was held by the Filipino film Felix Manalo, which recorded an attendance of 43,624 people at the Philippine Arena in 2015.
Reports from the Black Market event put the qualifying audience at about 51,000, which would place the Nigerian production above the previous record if the figure is accepted and verified by Guinness World Records.
The achievement followed several other Nigerian records in entertainment and creative industries, adding film screening to the growing list of fields in which Nigerians have pursued Guinness titles.
However, the records cannot be treated as a single national tally. Guinness World Records awards titles to individuals, teams, organisations and other record holders, while some achievements are subsequently broken by new record holders.
The organisation also states that records change daily and that its public database does not immediately reflect every new or changed record.
From Fela Kuti’s music record to recent achievements in cooking, art, broadcasting, fashion, gaming and film, Nigerians have continued to appear in the Guinness World Records database both at home and abroad.
