Popular chess master, Tunde Onakoya, has joined the league of Nigerians who recently won the Guinness World Record.
The 29-year-old Onakoya broke the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon in New York’s Times Square, when he reached the 57-hour mark, surpassing the previous record of 56 hours and 9 minutes.
The previous record of 56 hours, 9 minutes, was held by Norwegian players Hallvard Haug Flatebø and Sjur Ferkingstad in 2018.
Nigerian gourmet chef, Hilda Baci entered the Guinness World Record for longest cooking hours by an individual lat year.
The Guinness Book of Records is a reference book that chronicles human and natural world records.
It was first published in 1955 by the Guinness Brewery in Ireland and has since become one of the world’s most well-known and frequently read reference books.
Individuals or groups must submit proof to the Guinness World Records team and go through a verification process to qualify for a world record listing.
Below are a brief information about a list of Nigerians that have broken the Guinness World Records in recent times:
1. Hilda Baci in May 2023
Hilda Effiong Bassey, popularly known as Hilda Baci, entered the Guinness World Record for the longest cooking marathon by an individual. Hilda Baci made Nigerians proud on May 15, 2023, in the cook-a-thon held in Lagos, which was set to last for 93 hours and eleven minutes.
2. Divine Ikubor (Rema) in May 2023
Nigerian music star, Divine Ikubor, popularly known as Rema, made it to the Guinness World Book of Records. Rema’s hit song, ‘Calm Down’ made history as the first No. 1 Hit on The Official MENA Chart (the world’s first regional streaming chart).
3. Gbenga Ezekiel in October 2022
Ezekiel achieved the most skips in one minute on one leg (278), breaking his own record of 265, and the most double under skips in one minute on one leg (144), beating the previous record of 132, set by India’s Himanshu Prajapati in 2021.
4. Folashade Oluwafemiayo in August 2022
In 2021, Folashade Oluwafemiayo won the gold medal in her event at the 2021 World Para Powerlifting Championships held in Tbilisi, Georgia. At this event, she also set a new world record of 152.5 kg. She competed at the 2022 Commonwealth Games where she won a gold medal in the heavyweight event.
5. Chukwuebuka Ezugha and Victor Richard Kipo in March 2022
The most consecutive passes of a football (soccer ball) between the head and soles (team of two) is 252, achieved by Chukwuebuka Ezugha and Victor Richard Kipo (both Nigeria), in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom, Nigeria, on 11 March 2022.
6. Vincent Okezie in March 2022
Vincent Okezie, on 3 March 2023, Master Okezie won his fifth GWR to become the current holder of the most football (soccer) ‘around the world’ tricks (71) with arms linked.
7. Bose Omolayo in December 2021
Bose Omolayo became the new Guinness World Record holder in 2021 when she made the heaviest para power lift by a female in the -79 kg category at 144 kg.
8. Chinonso Miracle Eche in October 2021
Chinonso Miracle Eze achieved the fastest time to 1,000 touches while balancing another ball on the head, and broke the Guinness World Records Holder for “Most Consecutive Football Touches In One Minute While Balancing a Ball On His Head.
9. Peter Aho in October 2021
Peter Aho became one of the bowlers from Nigeria to break the Guinness World Record after taking five wickets and a hat-trick in a T20i game and also holds the record for best bowling figures in T20is, claiming six wickets for five runs against Sierra Leone in 2021.
10. Bayo Omoboriowo in September 2021
Bayo Omoboriowo broke the Guinness World Record for for creating The Largest Photo Book in 2021. The photo book, done in collaboration with The JT Agency and with the federal government’s support, is 60.84 square metres (654 square feet and 87 square inches) and was a recreation of a photo collection titled Discover Nigeria.
11. Tunde Onakoye in April 2024
Tunde Onakoya is the latest Nigerian to break the Guinness World Record after an unprecedented and uninterrupted 58-hour chess session, and reaching the 57-hour mark.
He had set out to play the royal game for 58 hours but continued until he reached 60 hours at about 12:40 a.m. Saturday, surpassing the current chess marathon record of 56 hours, 9 minutes and 37 seconds, achieved in 2018 by Norwegians Hallvard Haug Flatebø and Sjur Ferkingstad.
The Guinness World Record organization has yet to publicly comment about Onakoya’s attempt. It sometimes takes weeks for the organization to confirm any new record.
Read This: #LongestChessMarathon: Tunde Onakoya Smashed The World Record, Sets New One…
Onakoya played against Shawn Martinez, an American chess champion, in line with Guinness World Record guidelines that any attempt to break the record must be made by two players who would play continuously for the entire duration.
Support had been growing online and at the scene, where a blend of African music kept onlookers and supporters entertained amid cheers and applause. Among the dozens who cheered Onakoya on at the scene was Nigerian music star Davido.
The record attempt is “for the dreams of millions of children across Africa without access to education,” said Onakoya, who founded Chess in Slums Africa in 2018.
Read Also: Onakoya Set To Break Guinness World Record For Longest Chess Marathon…
The organization wants to support the education of at least 1 million children in slums across the continent.
“My energy is at 100% right now because my people are here supporting me with music,” Onakoya said Thursday evening after the players crossed the 24-hour mark.
On Onakoya’s menu: Lots of water and jollof rice, one of West Africa’s best-known dishes.
For every hour of game played, Onakoya and his opponent got only five minutes’ break. The breaks were sometimes grouped together, and Onakoya used them to catch up with Nigerians and New Yorkers cheering him on. He even joined in with their dancing sometimes.
A total of $22,000 was raised within the first 20 hours of the attempt, said Taiwo Adeyemi, Onakoya’s manager.
“The support has been overwhelming from Nigerians in the U.S., global leaders, celebrities and hundreds of passersby,” he said.
Onakoya’s attempt was closely followed in Nigeria, where he regularly organizes chess competitions for young people living on the streets.
More than 10 million school-age children are not in school in the West African country – one of the world’s highest rates.
Among those who have publicly supported him are celebrities and public office holders, including Nigeria’s former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who wrote to Onakoya on the social media platform X, “Remember your own powerful words: ‘It is possible to do great things from a small place.”
