Since May, and the victory of a Nigerian in a cooking marathon, the famous book which lists records around the world has received 1,500 requests from the country, each more delirious than the other.
As you read this, some Nigerians are racking their brains. They are looking for ideas to break world records. For two months, attempts have been linked in Nigeria to enter the Guinness Book of Records: a contest where everyone must kiss each other for three days, a 125-hour Instagram live or a singer who hums for 200 hours. This fad started last May after Nigerian, Hilda Baci, broke the cooking record by cooking food for 100 hours.
1,500 requests in two months
But others are not so lucky and miss their bet. Like this young woman, Joyce who, at the beginning of July, tried to break the longest massage record: 72 hours. She collapsed, fainted, after 50 hours all the same.
There is also this man, who became famous despite his defeat: he tried to break the record for the longest cry. So he was off to cry 100 hours non-stop, but didn’t make it. Worse, he even damaged his eyes and went blind for 45 minutes.
All these attempts have even made the Guinness Book react with a very clear message: “Please, enough with the marathons“. In two months, Guinness received 1,500 requests for records from Nigeria, about 19% of all attempts in the world. The famous book receives about 1,000 requests a week.
“In Nigeria, power is the ability to know a lot of people”
So why have the people of Nigeria gone into record madness? Some, like this professor who will try next September to read aloud for 124 hours, do so to promote Nigerian culture. Champion Hilda Baci also did it for her country.
But others seek notoriety: winning a world record means gaining fame, fame, and therefore attracting subscribers to social networks. The more the community grows, the more money you can make and become an influencer. “Individual success is fundamental in Nigeria”, explains Laurent Fourchard, director of research at the National Foundation for Political Science and former director of the French Institute for Research in Africa (IFRA) in Nigeria. “Socially, when you succeed, when you have money, when you have power, it is well seen“. The expert adds that in Nigeria, being followed is very important: “power is the ability to know many people“, whether on social networks, in politics or in other areas.
Being known sometimes brings gifts, trips. In an economically adrift country, this can also attract. In this oil-rich country, “In recent years, we have witnessed an impoverishment of the middle and urban classes”, according to Laurent Fourchard. 40% of the inhabitants live today in extreme poverty. The country’s security situation has also deteriorated, “Kidnappings are on the rise, notes the specialist. Over the past five years, visa applications have tripled, particularly to go to the United States and the United Kingdom.
For the specialist, this multiplication of record attempts is also a message sent to Nigerians around the world. “There is a real gap between the success of the Nigerian diaspora – many doctors, engineers, bankers – and the image of Nigerians who have stayed in the country”, analyzes Laurent Fourchard, “those who try to break records want to show that they also have talent”.
And Nigerians who succeed in their bets offer themselves a little spangled oxygen.