Enugu (Coal City) — African City of Culture
Enugu, town, capital of Enugu state, southeastern Nigeria, located at the foot of the Udi Plateau. Enugu is on the railroad from Port Harcourt, 150 miles (240 km) south-southwest, and at the intersection of roads from major commerce hubs in Eastern Nigeria — Aba, Onitsha, and to a lesser extent, Abakaliki.
According to Encyclopedia Britannica, Enugu owes its existence to the discovery of coal on the plateau in 1909, which led to the building of Port Harcourt.
The name is derived from the traditional Igbo word enu Ugwu, meaning “at the top of the hill.”
Enugu has once been headquarters (1939–51) of the Eastern provinces and the regional capital (1951–67) of Eastern Nigeria.
Education
An educational as well as a governmental and industrial centre, Enugu is home to a branch campus of the University of Nigeria, the Enugu State University of Science and Technology, and the Institute of Management and Technology. Enugu state’s central library and several radio stations are also located there.
Say my name. Enugu, City on the Hill
Enugu,usually referred to as Enugu State to distinguish it from the city of Enugu, is a state in southeastern Nigeria, created in 1991 from part of the old Anambra State. Its capital and largest city is Enugu, from which the state derives its name. The principal cities in the state are Enugu, Ohum, Ezeagu, Ngwo, Nsukka, Agbani, Awgu, Aninri and Udi.
Education
Every community in Enugu State has at least one Primary/Elementary school and one Secondary school, funded and run by State Government. There are also large numbers of private nursery, primary and secondary schools in Enugu State.
Nigeria’s first indigenous university, (University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN)), is located in Enugu State. The state also hosts the Enugu State University of Science & Technology (ESUT), Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Federal Cooperative College, Oji River (FCCO); Enugu State College of Education Technical, Enugu; Caritas University, Amorji-Nike, Renaissance University, Ugbawka.
Others include Command Day Secondary School Enugu, Federal Government College Enugu, Federal School of Dental Technology & Therapy, College of Immaculate Conception, Enugu, Queen’s School Enugu (a Prominent high school for girls in the Eastern region); St. Theresa’s College, Nsukka; Special Science Boys’ Secondary School Agbani, Nkanu West L.G.A; Bigard Memorial Seminary, Enugu; Awgu County College, Nenwe; Community Secondary School, Ugbo-Okpala, Ugbo; Corpus Christi College, Achi, Royal Crown Academy, Nsukka; Eha-Amufu, Seat of Wisdom Secondary School Trans Ekulu Enugu, Osisatech boys secondary school.
Our Saviour Institute of Science and Technology, Enugu; and the Federal College of Education,
There are also a host of private computer schools and training centres concentrated in Enugu and Nsukka. There are also notable private Tertiary Institutions in Enugu such as Caritas University, a Catholic university founded by a Catholic Priest: Father Edeh, and Renaissance University.
Demographics
Enugu State had a population of 3,267,837 people at the census held in 2006 (estimated at over 3.8 million in 2012). It is home of the Igbo of southeastern and few Idoma/Igala people in Ette (Igbo-Eze North) of Enugu State, Nigeria.
Notable people
Celebrities
Chiwetel Ejiofor - British Actor.
Zain Ejiofor Asher — British News Anchor at CNN and sister of Chiwetel Ejiofor.
Kenneth Okonkwo Nigerian actor and lead character in Living in Bondage.
Nkem Owoh aka Osuofia, Nollywood actor.
Patience Ozokwor, Nollywood Actress.
Ogonna Nneka Nnamani — American indoor volleyball player, former member of the United States National and Olympic Team.
Christian Chukwu - Ex super eagles captain and coach.
Dillibe Onyeama - Nigerian Author and publisher, the first black person to finish his studies at Eton College.
Governors — Past and present
Sullivan Chime — Former Enugu State Governor.
Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi — Governor Enugu State, Former Three times member House of Representative.
Lolo Cecelia Ezilo — The first female Deputy Governor of Enugu State.
Senator Chimaroke Nnamani — Ex Governor Enugu State.
Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo — Governor Old Enugu State and Former National Secretary PDP.
Jim Ifeanyichukwu Nwobodo — Ex Governor Old Anambra state, Minister and Senator.
Chief C.C. Onoh — Governor Old Anambra, First Indigenous Chairman Coal Co-operation.
Rear admiral Allison Madueke — Former Chief Naval Staff.
Commodore Anthony Ogugua — Military Governor of Imo state.
Justices
Justice Charles Onyeama — Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, and International Court of Justice.
Justice Nnaemeka Agu, a Nigerian jurist who was a justice at the Federal Court of Appeals. He was Commissioner of Justice, East Central State and justice at the Supreme Court of Nigeria from 1987 to 1993.
Government Officials and Former Ministers
Akuabata Njeze - Former Minister of Aviation and Ambassador.
Frank Nweke - Former Minister and DG Nigerian Economics Summit Group.
Geofrey Onyema - Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Senator Ike Ekweremadu - Longest Serving Deputy Senate President in Nigeria and First Nigerian Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament.
Commodore James Aneke - Military Governor of Imo state
John Nnia Nwodo - President Ohaneze Ndigbo and Former Minister of Information.
Prof. Barth Nnaji — Former Minister of Power
Bianca Ojukwu Nee (Onoh)
John Okafor (Aka Mr. Ibu)
Group Capt. Joe Orji - Military Governor Gombe state.
Senator Ken Nnamani - Former Senate President.
Senior Academics
Prof Onwumechili Cyril — The first Nigerian Nuclear Physicist and First African Professor of Agricultural Science.
Prof. Chinedu Nebo - Former V.C. University of Nigeria Nsukka and Federal University Oye Ekiti, Former Minister of Power.
Prof Osita M. Ogbu , OON is a professor of economics at the University of Nigeria. Minister of National Planning from 2005 to 2006, former Chief Economic Advisor to the President of Nigeria; and former visiting fellow of the Brookings Institution’s Africa Growth Initiative.
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2019, July 12). Enugu. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Enugu-Nigeria
