TINUBU CONGRATULATES OSIKOYA, AWOLOWO ON ‘BLACK MARKET’ GUINNESS WORLD RECORD
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By ‘Sefiu Ajape
President Bola Tinubu has congratulated Nigerian filmmakers Damilola Osikoya of Switch Visuals Production and Nora Awolowo of Rixel Studios on achieving the Guinness World Record for the largest attendance at a film screening.
The record was achieved on Saturday, September 26, 2026, during the screening of Black Market at Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos, where more than 51,000 qualifying viewers watched the film.
In a statement issued on Monday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu celebrated the filmmakers for their creativity, enterprise and ambition, describing the achievement as further evidence of the “extraordinary talent driving Nigeria’s creative industry.”
The President said Nigeria’s creative economy was “building businesses, creating jobs and opening new markets for Nigerian talent,” adding that film, music, fashion and art were taking the country’s stories and culture to audiences worldwide.
Tinubu also said the achievement of Black Market showed “what is possible when Nigerian creativity is matched with enterprise and scale,” while reaffirming his administration’s commitment to creating more opportunities for young Nigerians to build livelihoods and globally competitive businesses from their talent.
The record-breaking screening drew thousands of movie lovers, celebrities and entertainment industry stakeholders to TBS, with Lagos State Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat and Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture Toke Benson among those in attendance.
Nollywood stars including Lateef Adedimeji, Linda Ejiofor, Scarlet Gomez, Stan Nze, Gabriel Afolayan and Kunle Afolayan also graced the event.
Organisers had targeted 50,000 simultaneous viewers in a bid to surpass the previous record of 43,624 attendees, set in 2015 during a screening of the Filipino film Felix Manalo at the Philippine Arena.
Guinness World Records subsequently confirmed more than 51,000 qualifying viewers for the Lagos screening.
The qualifying figure was based on viewers who were present at the beginning and remained until the end of the screening, meaning it differed from the overall attendance at the event.
Directed by Fatimah Binta Gimsay and co-written by Gimsay and Abdul Tijani-Ahmed, Black Market follows five women involved in a cross-border smuggling operation whose lives are thrown into turmoil after the daughter of one of them is kidnapped.
The film stars Linda Ejiofor-Suleiman, Omowunmi Dada, Scarlet Gomez, Teniola Aladese, Susan Ganchung Pwajok, Lateef Adedimeji, Itele D-Icon, Andrew Yaw Bunting, Kanaga Eme Jnr, Taye Arimoro, Shamz Garuba, Uzor Arukwe, Folagade Banks and Tomiwa Tegbe.
The screening was organised by Rixel Studios in collaboration with FilmOne Studios, Signet Ring Studios and Switch Visuals Production. The Guinness announcement after the screening triggered loud cheers, celebrations and fireworks at TBS.
Tinubu commended everyone involved in Black Market and wished the team greater success.
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