The Nigerian social media space has been buzzing with stories about 26-year-old content creator, Alma Asinobi, who is set to break the Guinness World Record of visiting seven continents across the globe within 60 hours.
Alma Asinobi shared her plans to break the world record on her social media handle (X) and it has sparked massive reactions – a significant highlight of her ambition is that she would be undertaking the journey using a Nigerian passport.
In 2019, Alma Asinobi, a Nigerian postgraduate architecture student, gave herself an ambitious goal after obtaining her first passport: to visit up to 16 countries every year.
Then Covid-19 triggered a global lockdown, curtailing her dreams. Since restrictions were lifted, she has visited more than 30 countries and founded a travel agency, Kaijego.
On 15 March, the 26-year-old will attempt to fulfil another ambition: breaking the Guinness world record for the shortest time traversing all seven continents.
โIt is the most โdo it afraidโ thing Iโve done in my life,โ she said.
If she succeeds, she will join a string of freshly minted record-holders in West Africa, where a new generation isย passionately embracing breaking records.
Alma Alsinobi set to join Pelmi Nubi, Liz Sanya as GWRH
Since 2023, there have been more than 7,000 applications from the regionโs 16 countries, according to Nicholas Brookes, the marketing director atย Guinness World Records (GWR).
Asinobi, who travelled to other countries to obtain some of the 10 visas needed for the challenge, wants to highlight the difficulties posed by travelling with a โlow-mobilityโ passport.
On theย 2025 Henley Passport Index, which ranks 199 countries by travel freedoms, Nigeria is tied in 88th place with Ethiopia and Myanmar.
“My dreams will not be limited by the colour of my skin” – Asinobi
Nigerian travellers routinely complain of being pulled out of immigration queues or not being allowed to board flights for mundane reasons at border controls in Europe, North America and even inย Africa.
โMy dreams will not be limited by the colour of my skin or the colour of my passport,โ Asinobi said.
In September 2023, officials in Egypt kept her from proceeding to Jordan and Qatar for an hour, claiming that due to an airline policy, she had to show a return ticket to Nigeria.
โWhen people say โitโs the policyโ, they expect that you just keep quiet,โ said Asinobi, whose checked-in luggage on that occasion was sent to another city and never recovered.“
In two minutes, the matter was resolved automatically when I said they had to show me where that policy was.โ
What Alma Asinobi has to do to smash the GWR record
GWR rules require her to step foot on all seven continents by briefly leaving the airports she will fly between, and to document her journey with evidence at landmarks. Asinobiโs journey will start in Antarctica โ where she is looking forward to seeing penguins โ and end in Australia.
READ ALSO: 10 NIGERIANS THAT MADE IT TO THE GUINNESS WORLD RECORD
For months, Asinobi had been preparing to break theย 2023 recordย of 73 hours. But on Thursday evening she discovered that an American national, Johnny Buckingham,ย had been certifiedย as the new record holder with a time of 64 hours, travelled in February.
On Friday morning she posted on X:
โAm I crazy enough to challenge a US Airforce veteran to break a mission-planning record with barely a week to plan? YES.โ
Asinobi hopes to break another record โ the most signatures on a piece of travel memorabilia โ by asking thousands of people to sign a Nigerian flag she is travelling with at a party in Lagos on her return.
Impact of Alma Asinobi’s GWR attempt on Nigeria’s image
Adding another layer to her initiative, Ms Asinobi has announced a second Guinness World Record attempt to create the most signed travel memorabilia in history.
This project involves a Nigerian flag that will be signed by supporters from around the globe. The signing event is set for 23 March and is poised to symbolise unity, resilience, and the power of international collaboration.
โThis is about taking Nigeria global,โ she explained. โWe want our flag to symbolise unity, resilience, and the power of collaboration,โ she said.
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