Entertainment 3rd edition

Owerre-Ezukala: Ogbaukwu cave still remains tourist attraction to beat
By Success Kanayo Uchime

Despite its abandonment by successive governments, the Ogbaukwu Cave and Water-fall, now known as Owerre-Ezukala Cave and Water-falls, located in Owerre-Ezukala, Orumba South Local Government Area of Anambra, has remained the tourist attraction to beat in Anambra State.
     The Cave, considered the largest in West Africa, was taken over by the Federal Government in 2010. The community formally handed the Cave over to the government, through the then Director-General of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation, (NTDC), Otumba Olusegun Runsewe, (OON), as part of the activities marking her annual cultural festival.
    That singular incidence attracted wild jubilations all over the place, as the natives, the local government council and the entire state believed that the presence of the federal government would add more value to the much neglected tourist center. To the Owerre-Ezukala people, the essence of the hand-over was for proper refurbishment, marketing and promotion to attract tourists to the area.
    The natives had thought that the project would see the light of the day as soon as possible. They believed that their community would soon start to bubble with life to the extent that tourist from all over the world would be visiting the cave from time to time and patronize their local products and boost their earnings.
    It is believed that the cave if properly developed and equipped to the standard of being one of the world’s tourist sites, will attract huge revenue to the government. This singular fact, prompted the traditional ruler of Owerre-Ezukala, Igwe Joel Madu, to call on the federal as well as state governments to develop the cave and waterfall into global tourist sites.
    Madu had in the past, made desperate moves to bring in private sectors to come in and exploit the huge potentials hidden in the site.  He said the community usually commemorates the cave through an annual national festival which comes up every May.
    “We have been asking the government to help in getting it celebrated the way it is supposed to be, so that the whole world would come and see what is down here. To the private people and NGOs; there is a lot of cultural and traditional stuff down there,’’ he said.
   There is no doubt that the cave presents one of the greatest natural tourist attractions in Anambra State, but incidentally, very little is known about it, though it has been in existence for so many years now. Some even describe it as the ‘God’s former courtyard.’ The dome is a naturally carved rock formation in the form of an arena, covering a large dry and sandy area which forms a natural beach around the waterfall.
   Next to the dome is the cave, which will take upwards to two hours to explore. It forms a deep and complex rock formation with roomy compartments large enough to take in an entire village.  The cave consists of tunnels, heading off in different directions; however, there are two noticeable entrances to the cave. 
   Owerre-Ezukala mythology has it that one tunnel in particular is regarded as an escape route which is about two kilometers long, from which one will eventually emerge in Oji River Local Government Area of Enugu State.  At the center of the cave, is one large area said to have been the living room of the ‘god’ of Owerre-Ezukala, his throne and other compartments within his household.
   There is one particular compartment, accessed by the aid of stone steps where an old elephant’s foot still stands, long dead and dry. In another crevice, there is a natural spanner of rock, and in yet another is a gun of stone, as old as the cave. Guided tours in and around it is a wonder, and leaves a visitor dumbfounded to this wonderful work of nature. There is the ‘Ogba Ekezu,’ a bottomless well within the cave, which is believed that anyone who ever falls into it is not seen again.  In the past, natives came to the cave once every year, in the month of March to perform the ‘Aja Ala Onwa Ito’ festival. Visitors were invited for parties and picnics inside the cave.  It was alleged that natives in the past communed physically with the god of Ogbaukwu who appeared on his throne in the form of a man, holding a broom in his hand. 
     The people’s mythology had it that the god of Ogbaukwu is believed to answer the people’s questions, gave judgment to their cases and made predictions about the future.  It is also believed that time and encroachment however, must have caused his relocation to an unknown destination. Guided tours in and around it is a wonder, and leave a visitor dumbfounded to this wonderful work of nature.
    In fact, visitors to the cave have testified that there is nothing that is not in the cave. This is so because on entering the cave, the visitor feels the clement weather in and around the cave, and on descending, he sees the waterfall. Inside the cave are varied tunnels and inter-connecting passages leading into different roomy apartments of varying shapes and sizes. 
    It has naturally-carved rocks, with two different entrances, one serving as an entrance and the other an exit point offering an escape route in a case of emergency. It is here that the major interesting scenic spots abound and local guides help tourists wander through, either with candles or torches in the absence of electricity.
    Security wise, the cave was a good hide out in times of danger or insecurity. Villagers were and are still known to find refuge inside it.  The most interesting thing in the cave is that a spiritual force was once known to inhabit it. Traditional religionists claim it was god, the creator that resided inside the cave, from where he stayed at a particular entry point to dispense justice to disputing parties that came on consultation either over a missing or stolen property.
      It is not yet known when this cave evolved or started to exist. Therefore, it is speculated that the cradle of early civilization started there. This is one of the reasons why the cave is said to have met the ten criteria for becoming a United Nation’s Education and Scientific Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage site.
     Experts believe that the cave possessed eight out of the ten criteria that qualifies a property to be considered as having outstanding universal values for enlistment on the World Heritage Site. The cave/waterfall is likely to break the record as no property on the World Heritage Site is known to have met half of the criteria talk less of eight out of ten criteria.
   The Owerre-Ezukala people therefore, are still yearning and calling on the government to come to their aid. They are calling on the government to take tourism seriously, considering the immense economic potentials inherent in it. It is their heart’s desire that the infrastructure be developed immediately, as this will boost the economic activity and growth of their town.