Emmanuel Okikiola, an Ekiti State University (EKSU) alumnus, has launched a new attempt to break the Guinness record for the longest individual singing marathon.
During a discussion on Monday, Okikiola mentioned his plan to sing for 150 hours.
He stated he started the sing-a-thon on December 3 but had to stop after 62 hours because “our stopwatch went off for more than 30 minutes.”
The gospel singer, on the other hand, has stated that he will begin again on December 12 in Akure, Ondo state.
“I stopped it because there were some mistakes that occurred. The number one mistake was that our system went off,” he said.
“What was displaying our timer went off. It took us more than 30 minutes to fix it back. And that timer affected our stuff because the stopwatch ought to be accurate. That was one of the rules that was sent to me by the Guinness World Records (GWR).
“And there were some things like logistics that had not been put in place. So there was no proper arrangement for that. So that is why we decided to start all over again.”
The singer said he sent his request to GWR earlier in the year and got approval in November.
“I was aware someone had tried the 200-hour singing marathon. But we heard that he was unable to complete it due to some reasons. So, Guinness has to approve my own. If he had completed it, Guinness would have reviewed it. Guinness still recognises Waghmare as the record holder. I reached out to Guinness around March. And I was approved by November,” he added.
He stated that Toyin Adegbola, an actress, and Abel Praise, a gospel singer, are among the people invited to the event to show their support.
Okikiola hopes to smash the world record set by Sunil Waghmare of India 11 years ago.
Waghmare, of Nagpur, sung for 105 hours, from March 3 to March 7, 2012.
Okikiola’s quest adds to the growing list of Nigerians who have attempted to break world records since the beginning of 2023.
Oluwatobi Kufeji launched a 200-hour singing marathon in July in order to break the Guinness World Record (GWR). He did, however, mention “quest sabotage.”
Another Nigerian, Joseph Ahonis, completed his 126-hour singing marathon while waiting for GWR certification.