By Omowunmi Sanni

The School of Eloquence has officially set a new Guinness World Record for the longest speech marathon by a team after successfully completing a 480-hour public speaking marathon relay in Lagos.

The 20-day marathon, titled: ’20 days of eloquence: Nigeria speaks to the world,’ ran continuously from April 1 to 21.
The event concluded with an official adjudication ceremony held yesterday, where representatives from Guinness World Records reviewed evidence and declared the new record.

Representing Guinness World Records, Chief Adjudicator, Lena Kuhlman, confirmed that the School of Eloquence surpassed the previous world record of 127 hours and 31 minutes, which was set by Toastmasters District 112 in New Zealand in 2018.

Kuhlman officially announced that the Lagos-based institution achieved a total of 480 hours after a review of livestream archives, video evidence, operational logs and witness documentation submitted for verification.

“To sustain a continuous speech marathon over a full 20 days requires far more than people simply showing up to speak. It demands structure, precision, resilience, coordination and an exceptional level of dedication from everyone involved behind the scenes.”

She later presented the official Guinness World Records certificate virtually and declared the institution “officially amazing,” which triggered loud celebration from the crowd gathered at the venue.

In his remarks, the Founder and Dean of the school, Ubong Essien, described the achievement as more than a record-breaking attempt, stating that it was designed to showcase the intellectual and communicative abilities of Nigerians.

“It’s to let the world know that Nigerians have ideas. We can articulate, we can present and we can engage in debates,” Essien said.
According to him, the project was inspired by the institution’s 20th anniversary celebration, and its desire to leave a legacy that promotes public speaking and eloquence across society.

He said the marathon was conceived to demonstrate that Nigerians can sustain high-level public discourse and to create a platform for citizens to voice opinions on national and global issues.

Essien stressed the importance of communication in leadership and nation-building, and noted that every civilisation is built on ideas that must be communicated effectively.

He said the inability to articulate ideas clearly undermines progress in governance, business, education and civic engagement.
He also expressed concern over the lack of public speaking education in schools, revealing that the institution created a programme known as the ‘Catch them young junior eloquence project’ to train younger students in oratory and communication skills.

The programme, he said, is aimed at embedding communication training at the primary and secondary school levels to prepare students for leadership and public engagement.

Essien explained that planning the marathon involved extensive logistics and compliance requirements from Guinness World Records.
These included maintaining uninterrupted speaking sessions, ensuring constant audience presence throughout the 20-day period, and providing continuous power supply to prevent breaks in the livestream and audio coverage.

He disclosed that each speech was required to last at least five minutes, while silence on the microphone could not exceed 30 seconds. Speakers took turns in a relay format, with transitions managed to ensure no gaps occurred between presentations.

The planning committee lead, Ayodele, described the feat as a victory not only for the School of Eloquence, but also for Nigeria.
He said the success of the event demonstrated the country’s capacity to organise and sustain large-scale initiatives that meet international standards.

The School of Eloquence, established in 2006, said the marathon would become a yearly national convention featuring discussions on health, business, governance, wellness and enterprise.

The institution stated that future editions would bring together speakers from across Nigeria and abroad to engage on issues affecting society.

Essien also announced plans to expand the school’s eloquence advocacy programmes to Abuja later this year, with the aim of reaching a wider audience and strengthening communication training in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT)