Nigeria Attempts 431-Hour Reading Marathon Record

In Nigeria, some people wanted to read for a long time. They tried to break a world record for reading aloud. They read books for many hours to help literacy. This event was in Lagos, at a restaurant with some readers. They hoped to make more people read in Africa.

Five people read books by Nigerian writers. They read for over 431 hours together. They read different kinds of books out loud. Other people watched and cheered them on during the task. They wanted the readers to do well with the attempt.

One reader said it was hard to read at night. He said the goal of the task helped him to keep reading. It was hard because they had little rest time. They want to show that Nigerian books are good. The event was to get young and old people to read them.

Nigeria has many children who do not go to school. The literacy rate in Nigeria is not very high. One reader said books were hard to get when he grew up. Investment in schools has not been good over the years. It is harder for writers because literacy is not a focus.

The National Library project in Abuja is not finished. The government spends money on other things instead. Some tech businesses are growing in Nigeria. There are not enough tech startups that focus on literacy. Many people do not have access to books because of this.