Nigerian man ‘goes blind’ during bizarre seven-day ‘cry-a-thon’ (but he won’t be getting a Guinness World Record)

A Nigerian man who forced himself to cry for a week has told how he became temporarily blind.

Tembu Ebere’s non-stop cry-a-thon – a Guinness World Record attempt – left him with a headache, swollen eyes and a swollen face.

But the BBC claims he was even partially blind for 45 minutes.

Ebere, who claims to be a comedian, promoted his efforts on TikTok, saying to followers under the username @237_towncryer, “Send me your troubles, I’ll cry for you.”

Tembu Ebere, from Nigeria, said he suffered from headaches, swollen eyes, swollen face and temporary blindness for 45 minutes.

The video, posted under the username @237_towncryer, has since racked up 5.3 million views as stunned TikTokers cheered his effort

He sat wailing and clutching his head next to a live timer, which read two hours and seven minutes.

Ebere’s video has been viewed 5.3 million times by confused TikTokers around the world, with some even applauding him. One said, “Go man, you can do it.”

Others quipped, “Honestly, I cried longer, I think,” and “No, I still hold that record.”

Speaking to the BBC, the ‘town crier’ said: ‘I had to come up with a new strategy and cut back on my whining’, adding that he was determined to sob towards his goal.

The BBC has not revealed how he became temporarily blind. However, the sensation can occur due to a headache and a build-up of pressure in the eye.

Despite the difficulties he has encountered, he has not officially signed up to Guinness World Records, so his attempt will not be recognized, it was claimed.

This despite him posting on social media that it was an official attempt.

The official records site has seen a frenzy of record attempts in Nigeria fueled by a four-day chef cooking marathon that caught the attention of the public.

Hilda Baci attempted to cook continuously for 100 hours, which was so popular that the official Guinness World Records website crashed for two days.

While striving to “put Nigerian cuisine on the map,” she was applauded by the public, celebrities and the Vice President of Nigeria.

Hilda Baci caused a record-breaking frenzy in Nigeria after trying to cook for 100 hours without interruption.

She managed to smash the previous cook-a-thon in India in 2019 for 93 hours and caught the attention of viewers around the world

The 26-year-old reached 93 hours and 11 minutes, shattering the previous cooking marathon record set in India in 2019.

Her success spawned a wave of similar attempts, with people participating in kiss-a-thons, sing-a-thons, and bid-a-thons.

John Obot, a teacher from Nigeria, told the BBC he would try to read classical literature for 140 hours in September 2023.

He said he chose a record that is meaningful, adding, “The motivation is to promote reading culture in Nigeria.”

Other attempts met with backlash for being offensive. A proposed kissing world record attempt was banned in Ekiti state and authorities told organizers they would be punished with jail if it continued.

‘[The] ‘kiss-a-thon’ as an event is not only absurd, immoral, unhealthy [but] able to denigrate Ekiti’s image,” said a statement from the Ministry of Culture.

Meanwhile, a masseuse, attempting a 72-hour massage-a-thon, passed out during a live broadcast. The young woman managed it for 53 hours before collapsing on her female client and being brought back to life by an assistant.

Guinness World Records has advised hopeful record breakers to be careful and contact the body or risk being disqualified.

“Please, enough of the record-a-thons,” the organization wrote on social media.

The comments sparked criticism from some Nigerians who questioned whether the record company was “tired” of their country, to which she stated that she welcomed “signups from all over the world.”