22-year-old content creator and food consultant Munachimso Brian Nwana has achieved the world record for the most fast food restaurants visited in 24 hours. According to the Guinness World Records, Brian visited 150 different establishments, smashing the previous record 100, which American YouTuber Airrack set last year.
The rules of the competition state that no form of private transport can be used while attempting this record, and due to the city’s limited public transportation infrastructure, Brian completed his entire route on foot!
Both of those record attempts occurred in New York City, whereas Brian’s took place in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria.
He said: “New York has clusters of restaurants and adequate public transportation systems, so doing this in Abuja was much more daunting and challenging.”
He walked over 25 km (15 mi), beginning at Chicken Republic in the residential district of Gwarinpa and finishing in the city centre at fast food chain Kilimanjaro. He chose 5 p.m. as his start and end time, taking a nine-hour break from midnight to 9 a.m. to sleep.
To successfully achieve the record, at least one food or drink item must be purchased and consumed at each restaurant, with the requirement that at least 75% of the orders are food.
Brian says he ate “probably enough to last a week” and made an effort to taste something – even if just a mouthful – from the majority of places he visited. The remaining food was all consumed by his team and members of the public.
According to Brian, he undertook this challenge to promote Abuja’s restaurants and showcase Nigerian cuisine. Although he ate a variety of foods including shawarma, pizza, fried chicken and burgers, his favourite meals were Nigerian delicacies such as moi moi (bean pudding) and àmàlà (a dough-like swallow food).
“This record goes to show that the Nigerian food space is worth paying attention to. I would like to encourage people from around the world to come and explore the Nigerian food space,” Brian said.