Guinness World Record: Nigerian Man, John Obot Attempts To Read Aloud For 145 Hours

“In Ibibio culture, when a man dies, his wife is expected to mourn him for three months; the mourning period could extend to six months if the man was a prominent man, like a chief.

“Also, in the traditional Ibibio practice, widows were expected to choose a husband from among the brothers or half-brothers of the late spouse (a process known as únyjmmé owo), This decision to involve her in a second marriage within the family was especially so, if the late husband’s family deemed her to have been of good and exemplary behaviour as a wife and mother. This was also to continue the family heritage and to confirm that the woman was married to the entire family and not necessarily to the late husband alone,” Mr Obot read from the Ibibio Nation: History and Culture by Oto-Obong Uwah.

The marathoner said, before its commencement, that the exercise was meant “to draw attention to the fast declining reading culture, especially among Nigerian youths, and as a way of encouraging authors to continue their art of writing.”