Samson Ajao positively put Nigeria on the world map recently when he set a new record of the longest marathon reading aloud time. As a result, Ajao was awarded the World Record Title Holder of the Guinness World Records of the Longest Marathon Reading Aloud. In this chat with GBENGA SALAU, he spoke on what motivated him to achieve that feat.

Can you provide an insight into your breaking the world longest marathon reading aloud record?
I started the challenge on May 6, 2024 and finished on May 15, 2024. I read for 215 hours, two seconds, beating the previous record of 124 hours sets by Rysbai Isakov, a Turkish on September 2022. My record is one of the longest marathon attempts in Guinness World Records history.

I am aware of the importance of good reading culture in a society. A society that reads is well equipped with solutions and ideas to tackle the challenges that face them. I took up the challenge to light up the reading culture in our society, and with the achievement, I tend to inspire the youth and children to imbibe the spirit of reading.
What was the experience like going through the process and finally achieving the feat?
It was a tough and all-around development experience for me. The challenges were overwhelming, particularly the financial constraints to set up the team to meet the requirements and the hard physical pains that I had to endure throughout the attempt. The guideline stated clearly that I only have five minutes to rest within one hour, which means, I have an aggregate of two hours in 24 hours to eat, sleep, and do every other thing while pursuing the feat. Also, I can only have a 30-second pause while reading. So, most of the time, I read while standing to avoid dosing on the chair. I had serious overall body pains throughout the attempt.
I was able to break the record through the cheers from the crowd and my unending determination to inspire reading culture in our society and motivate the people to know that there is no bound to human achievement that keeps me going.

Do you think there should be concerted efforts to encourage reading in Nigeria?
Reading is so important that it gives critical thinking, which in return helps to develop better ideas that can help build a better nation. Government and institutions should encourage reading culture in our society to help build leaders and experts with great minds to build a great nation for us while individuals should encourage good reading culture to help them develop the ideas and mindset to achieve their personal dreams and contribute to a better society that is free of bad manners.

Going forward, how do you plan to promote reading culture among Nigerians?
The reading culture has come to stay in Nigeria and Africa and I have the determination to take it to the next level through setting up a foundation that will focus on literacy development by rolling out practicable initiatives and access to educational resources for quality education and the right path for students at all levels to achieve their potential.
In the same vein, my life story and the Guinness World Records experience have not only been a personal milestone but also a discovery to the secret of success which I am carefully putting together in a book to help people lay their hands on secrets of successful people.

Do you think government is doing enough to promote reading culture among Nigerians, especially the youth?
Well, I commend the government on educational policies that have improved the educational system in our society and at the same time I like to charge them to do better than what they are offering at the moment, so that Nigeria can shape its future leaders and have people that are well prepared to give us a promising country in the future.