Poorly planned Guinness World Record attempts have health effects – Bayode, GWR holder

By Tumininu Ojelabi Hassan

Breaking the Guinness World Record (GWR) is the current trend in Nigeria, especially amongst the youths, who have stirred up interests towards breaking Guinness world record either for global recognition, social media popularity, financial gains (through donations from brands and individuals) or to achieve a lifetime goal.

Based on findings and observation, a lot of young people picked interests in being a GWR holder after Hilda Baci completed a 100-hour “Cook-a-thon”. Some of them claimed this great feat motivated them to break a record without putting into consideration the number of years, time, money and effort Hilda invested in breaking the record for the longest cooking marathon.

In less than two months after Hilda’s feat, while waiting for confirmation of breaking the record from the GWR, Damilola Adeparusi, also known as Chef Dammy attempted to break the same record for 120 hours.

Shortly after this, Temitope Adebayo, also known as Chef Maggie vowed to exceed Adeparusi’s 120 hours cooking attempt with a 140-hour 20 minutes cook-a-thon. This was revealed through a post on twitter by @Oyoaffairs. Subsequently, Adeyeye Adeola also attempted to break the longest cooking marathon record in 150 hours.

Other people aspiring to break the Guinness world records have surfaced online. Adebiyi Israel, a 500-level Law student of the Ekiti State University is set to break the world record for the longest hours spent watching movies. A Nigerian hairstylist based in Ibadan attempted to hold the GWR for the fastest hairstylist who made Ghana weaving and Braids for 50 people in 72 hours. Funmi Ojelade from Ogun state is set to begin a challenge “Indoor-Thon” which entails staying indoors for seven days.

An attempt to break the GWR for the Longest Kissing Marathon for three days was banned by the Ekiti state government. The state government in a statement signed by the Attorney general of the state, Mr. Dayo Apata (SAN) warned that the planned kiss-a-thon is contrary to Sections 148 and 150 of the Criminal Law (2021), which prohibit indecent acts and practices in the State, adding that anyone, who violates the law is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for three years.

Joyce Ijeoma, who attempted to break the longest massage on different individuals record in 72 hours, unfortunately collapsed while doing this at 53 hours. This incident has stirred controversies on social media. Some people sympathized with the masseuse while others ascribed the collapse to poor planning and medical unfitness.

While discussing with our correspondent, Bayode Treasures-Olawunmi, a Guinness World Record holder for the Longest Marathon Reading aloud category shared his experience while attempting to break this record and what motivated him to do this.

“The essence of that quest was to promote reading culture in Nigeria. I didn’t set out to be famous, I didn’t do it for popularity or for monetary gain. The essence was quite different. I could have decided to cook because cooking is my hobby, I love cooking. I could have decided to dance too, but I decided to read.

“You can do anything to break the Guinness World Record as there are all sorts of records to break. Why are you doing it? Is it to be famous? My motivation was that I intended to promote a vibrant and healthy reading culture in Nigeria and Africa because I love reading.

“One day, I was with my friends, a journalist and a legal practitioner. We talked about a guy who owns a yahoo training school. I was like why can’t you read instead of learning yahoo? I asked myself, What can you do about this problem? What can you do to contribute your own quota?

“Then, I said to myself, let me break this record, then I can speak boldly about reading. I looked for sponsors, no one was willing to sponsor the quest. In the long run, GT bank heard about it. I had to do 96 hours of reading aloud non-stop privately, which was streamlined to them alone to be sure of my capacity. When they confirmed that I could do it, they supported me,” he shared.

Based on the research he made to stay awake while attempting to break this record, sleep deprivation can pose adverse effects on one’s health. Despite being aware of this, he went ahead with this challenge. He explained the health issues he encountered as a result of this accomplishment.

“After about two or three days of commencing the attempt, I was hallucinating. I couldn’t see clearly because I was reading aloud, I sat for hours and I couldn’t move around, this were part of the rules and regulations from the GWR.

“Someone had to be massaging my body with ice, I felt pain all over my body, I had sore tongue because my teeth was biting my tongue, ice was placed on my eyes. I couldn’t feed properly. I was only eating what I saw to avoid using the restroom frequently. I slept for just one hour in a day, which was my accumulated breaks. I sat all through, sometimes for nine hours at a stretch. It was a suicide mission.

“On the fourth day, I slumped while reading. I was just blabbing. I took a break to rest, afterwards I resumed the challenge. GT Bank staff and my team were begging me to quit. They were crying. I told them I couldn’t quit, because if I quit, how will I push my children to achieve their goal? The previous record was 114 hours. To break the record, I had to do more than 114 hours.

” My target was 120 hours but I extended it to 123 hours to make up for the breaks. After the quest, it took about two days to see properly. I use glasses now, which I wasn’t using before I broke the record. Also, I forget things easily. Sometimes I forget people’s names. At a point, I thought I had amnesia. I am still battling with the health issues till now,” he stated.

According to Bayode, he didn’t run medical tests or get a medical doctor’s recommendation before attempting this challenge, however he had Lagos state medical team on ground who checked his blood pressure, sugar level and temperature during each break.

“Lagos state government was one of the sponsors and they sent a medical team to the venue. The following day after the quest, I wasn’t feeling too well. Lagos state government took me to Lagos Island hospital and Malaria was treated. I commend Lagos state government for their efforts,” he said.

He talked about the challenges he encountered while preparing to attempt the longest marathon reading aloud and his recuperation process after breaking the record.

“I can remember in 2021, when four ladies and I attempted to read aloud for 480 hours, we were literally begging media houses to cover the programme. Only Arise TV through Rufai Oseni’s influence covered the programme. We reached out to influencers, none of them responded except Mr. Macaroni, who posted about it on instagram. Media houses need to focus more on promoting relevant issues to the public.

“While preparing for the 120 hours longest marathon reading aloud, the only thing I prepared myself for was the mental battle, for me it was more about mental readiness. The only enemy I had was Time. I would have been reading aloud for long thinking it was already 10 hours, only for me to check the time and it would just be 10 minutes. Aside that, there was nothing else to practice.

Do you want to practice talking for nine hours non-stop? Do you want to practice reading? I started reading in primary four. When I was in primary school, which was a public school, I couldn’t read. When I was in primary three, third term precisely, I went to the back of the class and I started praying in Yoruba language. ‘Oluwa mo fe mo we ka. Mo fe mo English ka, mo fe mo Yoruba ka’ meaning ‘God, I want to learn how to read. I want to learn how to read English language, I want to know how to read Yoruba language’.

“The following term, I discovered that I became the champion in my school, I didn’t prepare for it. The first non-academic book I read was in 1996, when I was in SS3. In 1998, I read ‘How to win friends and influence people’ by Dale Carnegie. This book influenced me to read and I have been reading since 1998. My recuperation process was fast. I was housed in the Presidential suite of Eko hotel & Suites for seven days alongside my family. The entire bill was paid by the Lagos state government. On the third day, I was on my feet. By the sixth day after the quest, I was fine,” he added.

While speaking with our correspondent, he highlighted his achievements after the breaking the record. “I was made the Lagos state library ambassador. Afterwards, I started talking to children about reading in different states across the country. Also, I have featured in BBC and CNN news amongst other things.

He shared his thoughts concerning the occurrent trend of breaking Guinness World Records in the country. Also, he advised people aspiring to break the Guinness World Record.

“Currently, we are about seven or ten GWR holders in Nigeria. I would have loved at least 1000 people out of 200 million people to hold the world record but not for frivolities. What is the goal and purpose of breaking the record in the long run? You need to understand what you are doing it for. My purpose was to promote healthy reading culture in Nigeria. When a country reads, the country will grow. Everyone will have something to contribute to the economy.

“Before attempting to break a world record, ask yourself, Why do you want to do it? Is it worth it? Don’t do it on frivolities. Count your cost before you venture into it. Guinness World Record doesn’t have to be for hours. For example, Nigeria holds the record for the largest flag in the world. Make the time count, let it be on something serious. GWR usually advise applicants to attach a cause to breaking the record. There must be a reason, just like mine that was to promote reading culture in Nigeria. The purpose of breaking the record must be known, don’t do it because someone one else did it,” he advised.

Based on research, Sleep deprivation can be linked to increased risk of hypertension, obesity, diabetes, depression, heart attack, stroke, poorer memory, weakened immune system, trouble with thinking and concentration, mood swings, low sex drive among others.