Kunle Adelabu
The Channels Book Club has recognized Mr Bayode Treasures – Olawunmi, the Executive Director and leader of the iRead Afrika team that broke the Guinness World Record in Read Aloud Attempt by a Team in 2021, as a reading hero.
Bayode, who set a record for an individual attempt in 2018, led other members of iRead Afrika, which included Zainab Wakil Mustapha and Maryam Abba Sadu (both from Borno State), Doubra Yeri from Bayelsa State and Preciouslight Ukachi from Imo State, to achieve the feat.
The team read a total of 92 books with ‘Masterpiece of African Literatures’ by Ebele Ake, being the last book they read before clocking a total of 480 hours at 8pm on Tuesday, December 21, 2021, at the Herbert Macaulay Library, 338, Herbert Macaulay Way, Sabo, Yaba, Lagos, to achieve the feat.
In a statement by Channels Book Club on Wednesday (yesterday), Bayode was honoured as Channels Book Club 2021 Hero for doing great things about books and reading in Nigeria.
“For leading a team to break the Guinness book of world record for the longest marathon read-aloud and being such an inspiration, Channels Book Club is happy to announce you as one of our four CBC Heroes of 2021”, the statement reads.
“We’ll be making this announcement on this week’s episode of Channels’ Book Club”.
As announced by the CBC, the announcement will be made on its DSTV and Terrestrial platforms on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday and on its UK channel on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.
Viewers can also watch it live on m.channelstv.com or listen to the podcast on www.channelstv.com/podcasts. All episodes are available on our YouTube Channel
Speaking with Bayode on the recognition, he said that it was an honour for the iRead Afrika team that achieved the feat.
“Recognition by a reputable organization like Channels Television is no small feat and this is such an honor. But the honor is not mine alone to share, it is for my readers and the entire Read2Build team of volunteers and crews”, he said.
“This recognition is a spur for me to do more. To go all the way in the pursuit of playing my humble part in the history of our great country”, he added.
