Creative Nigerians use Guinness World Records to seek global recognition elusive at home

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerians have tried to set two Guinness World Records in the past week, with a man dancing for seven days and a movie premiering to an audience of more than 51,000 people, the largest ever on record.

Since 2023, when Nigerian celebrity chef Hilda Baci cooked for 93 hours and 11 minutes, setting a world record for the longest cooking marathon and becoming a viral sensation globally, there has been a deluge of record attempts in Nigeria, including the longest crying session, a clothes-washing marathon and a massage marathon.

Nigeria is home to an estimated 220 million people and has one of the youngest populations globally. The country has long been seen as an African superpower in the entertainment and creative industries but a lack of investment and government support has left the nation trailing global peers.

The flood of Guinness record bids is a way for creative people in Nigeria to seek the global recognition of their talents, a recognition they say eludes them at home, according to analysts and participants.

“The Guinness World Record is a global platform for the work to be recognized,” said Benjamin Daniel, the man seeking the dancing world record who has worked with the famous Kuti family. Guinness World Records was in the process of verifying the record on Wednesday.

“The people who are supposed to pay attention to us as a people are not doing it. So if the local people are not listening to us, let us run to the global,” Daniel said of the situation of dancers in Nigeria.

In the past decade, Nigeria has wrestled with a dwindling economy and soaring inflation. Unemployment has steadily risen, forcing the young to leave the country and seek opportunities elsewhere in a widespread syndrome called “japa” in Nigerian parlance, meaning “to escape.”

Analysts say the perks of a Guinness World Record can make up for deficient institutional support locally.

“What is different is the perceived value and the reach of the recognition. A Guinness World Record holder can go anywhere and lay claim to their recognition, compared to the achievements they might have gathered in their home country,” David Akinfenwa, a Lagos-based public relations executive, said.

Guinness World Records told The Associated Press that 5,042 people in Nigeria applied for a record between January 2022 and September 2026, with 3,346 record attempts. That makes Nigeria seventh among countries by applicant volume and eighth among the number of attempts.

“Guinness World Records has seen strong enthusiasm for record-breaking from people in Nigeria across a wide range of categories. It’s always exciting to see the creativity, determination and ambition people bring to their attempts, and every application is assessed against the same global criteria and evidence requirements," the organization said.

Nora Awolowo is one of the filmmakers of the movie Black Market that set the record for the world’s largest premiere of a movie, with 51,258 people in the audience.

“Nobody can tell me anything is impossible," she said. "There is no room I walk into now that if I tell you what I have done with my film, you would not put respect on my name.”

Benjamin Daniel, known as Ben Dancer, attempts dancing for 168 hours in a bid to set a Guinness World Record, at the freedom park in Lagos, Nigeria, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Benjamin Daniel, known as Ben Dancer, attempts dancing for 168 hours in a bid to set a Guinness World Record, at the freedom park in Lagos, Nigeria, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Benjamin Daniel, known as Ben Dancer, attempts dancing for 168 hours in a bid to set a Guinness World Record, at the freedom park in Lagos, Nigeria, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Benjamin Daniel, known as Ben Dancer, attempts dancing for 168 hours in a bid to set a Guinness World Record, at the freedom park in Lagos, Nigeria, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Benjamin Daniel, known as Ben Dancer, attempts dancing for 168 hours in a bid to set a Guinness World Record, at the freedom park in Lagos, Nigeria, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

NEW DELHI (AP) — An Indian airline captain who was at the controls of a FlyDubai flight when a copilot stabbed him in an apparent attempt to crash the plane has been hailed as a hero, with his actions to thwart the disaster drawing praise from world leaders.

Capt. Smit Machchhar, who hails from India’s financial hub of Mumbai, was seriously injured as passengers rushed into the cockpit and restrained the attacker as the drama unfolded on Wednesday while the Boeing 737 descended sharply, according to witnesses and Israeli authorities.

The attack forced the flight carrying 174 people from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to Tel Aviv, Israel, to make an emergency landing in Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia.

Machchhar was taken to a hospital and was in stable condition, the Indian Embassy in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, said late Wednesday. Embassy officials were in contact with his family and Saudi authorities.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday called Machchhar a hero.

“In the face of the gravest danger and despite being seriously injured, he showed immense courage and an unwavering resolve to protect the lives of others. His valor helped save hundreds of lives and avert a great tragedy,” Modi wrote on X.

Little is publicly known about Machchhar, but according to his LinkedIn profile, he has worked for FlyDubai for about four years. Before joining the airline, he spent 11 years with SpiceJet, an Indian low-cost carrier, where he served as a senior commander and line training captain.

He has logged more than 9,750 flying hours, according to the profile.

Machchhar trained as a pilot at Mainland Air in the New Zealand city of Dunedin for 18 months, beginning in 2008, the school's CEO, Philip Kean, told 1News.

Kean said Machchhar "did very well” as a student and later returned to India where he worked as a recruiter for the school.

“We’re all very proud of him here and wish him a speedy recovery,” he said.

SpiceJet, in a post on X, praised Machchhar’s “heroic courage” and “selfless actions.” “You are a hero to us all, Captain,” the airline wrote.

The attack triggered a major security response in Israel, with authorities scrambling fighter jets in case of a possible hijacking. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacker, an Omani national, was arrested in Saudi Arabia and was undergoing interrogation there. His motive for the attack was not immediately clear.

Netanyahu praised Machchhar’s “extraordinary bravery” in a post on X, saying the wounded captain fought back after being stabbed, opened the cockpit door and helped passengers and crew overpower the attacker, preventing what Netanyahu described as a “catastrophic midair disaster.”

“He saved the lives of 174 people, including Israeli citizens and other nationals,” Netanyahu wrote.

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Associated Press journalist Charlotte Graham-McLay in Wellington, New Zealand, contributed to this report.

News media personnel film in the building where relatives of Smit Machchhar, an Indian pilot for Flydubai, previously lived in Mumbai, India, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

News media personnel stand outside the building where relatives of Smit Machchhar, an Indian pilot for Flydubai, previously lived in Mumbai, India, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)