Oyemekun rock

Mysterious rock

Behold the ‘speaking’ rock!

This  rock speaks ,

The rock sits majestically under the shaded trees  that ‘saves’ it from the scorching sun and  from the rain. From animate to inanimate  objects   of all types are  etched on the rock. They( objects) are either staring at you  or you could see them  sitting quietly in different shapes as if they could talk. Yes!  the rock, though not   a living thing can talk! .Welcome to Oyemekun rock , the  rock named after the town’s appellation Akure Oloyemekun

In Akure, Ondo state, the Oyemekun rock has become a tourist centre visited from far and wide as visitors from Ibadan, Lagos,Benin, Russia and other places come there .

The man in charge , Reverend Raphael Afolabi Fadipe said she had  since 1989 has been discovering  new objects everyday.’’ Between 1989 and 1992 I discovered   about 55objects and now I have discovered about 65 and I believe I will still discover more. I don’t even understand how all came to be , all is a mystery ,I believe’’, he told The Nation.

One is marvelled as the reverend picks  up a  cane and like a school teacher started  pointing at the objects ‘’ this is a drawing of a woman chasing a  crocodile, this another , a hippopotamus , a frog, an owl , an ostrich’’. He continued ‘’this is Moses’ snake  swallowing   that of Pharaoh’s. There is this Olympic torch, a flying eagle, a dinosaur, a pregnant woman chatting   with her friend , Ondo state, Ekiti state, Map of Nigeria, map of USRR, map of Russia among others.’’

On how Fadipe came across the rock , the man said it was by accident and  by divine intervention, he started the story:

‘’I was into  chemical business when I came from the North to settle down  in Akure. I bought this land and used it as a farm and it was this place I also used  it as a testing ground   testing  my chemicals on  fruits before they are sold in the market. Then in 1989  I changed my business to  breeding  fishes. Unfortunately one day there was a downpour and the rain washed away all the fishes in the ponds. It was a sad experience but I took it with courage and I bore it with good faith  .Later I made an effort to re arrange the place and got a caterpillar to scoop the hilly sand not knowing  that a big  rock  was covered  with sand, when it was removed I later saw a big rock, and other smaller rocks  lying there. It was washed thoroughly .I decided to let the rock be , I was curious .One spirit told  me not to blow it up. I heard a voice telling me that it would serve a purpose as I heard the voice saying ;’’Do not destroy but modify’’. Again  in my dream God instructed me not to destroy the place but I did not understand .’’

According to Fadipe , one day he sat down gazing at the rock and noticed that those etchings were naturally engraved on them , I saw  the head of tilapia fish, Map of South America, Flying eagle, map of United States of America , a woman holding her briefcase, a sea lion, a pigeon ,a frog , a pig and many other things etched on the rock.It was marvellous and I was really shocked ‘’.

On  his effort to make the place attractive, Fadipe said  ‘’I have contacted the Ondo state tourism board, they appreciated it while the Ondo State Television Station was here to film it .People come here to have a look and they appreciated it  but I still want the state and the federal government to pump money into it because this is a money –spinning  business that the state can generate revenue from .’’

On the problems he has been encountering , the reverend declared;There was a time the Power Holdings were here and said the rock is under a tension wire , but when they weighed everything they said it is far from the  site.  borrowed money and bought a  bus using it as a transport carrying tomatoes from Kaduna  to Akure for seven years and paid back the loan , today the bus is now converted to the  usage of the Oyemekun Tourist centre.