Enugu State

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Enugu State is an inland state in southeastern Nigeria. Its capital is Enugu, from which the state - created in 1991 from the old Anambra State - derives its name. The principal cities in the state are Enugu and Nsukka.

Enugu State is one of the States in the South Eastern part of Nigeria. The state shares borders with Abia and Imo States to the South, Ebonyi State to the East, Benue State to the Northeast, Kogi State to the northwest and Anambra State to the West.

Though land-locked, Enugu is approximately 2-1/2 driving hours away from Port Harcourt, Calabar and Warri, all coastal cities with major shipping ports. Enugu is also located within an hour’s drive from Onitsha and 2 hours’ drive from Aba, both of which are trading centres in Nigeria. The city is also located within 5 driving hours from Abuja and 7 driving hours from Lagos, the administrative and commercial headquarters of Nigeria respectively.

Lying partly within the semi-tropical rain forest belt of the south, the State spreads towards the north through a land area of approximately 8727.1 km². Its physical features change gradually from tropical rain forest to open wood-land and then to Savannah. Apart from a chain of low hills, running through Abakaliki, Ebonyi State in the east to Nsukka in the north-west, and southwards through Enugu and Agwu, the rest of the state is made up of low land separated by numerous streams and rivulets, the major ones of which are the Adada River and the Oji River.

Enugu has good soil and climate, sitting at about 223 meters above sea level, and the soil is well drained. The mean temperature in Enugu State in the hottest month of February is about 36.20C (97.16F), while the lowest temperatures occur in the month of November, reaching 20.30C (68.54F). The lowest rainfall of about 0.16cm3 is normal in February, while the highest is about 35.7cm3 in July.

The name of State derives from its capital city, Enugu. The word "Enugu" means "the top of the hill". The first European settlers arrived in the area in 1909, led by a British mining engineer, Kikson. In his quest for silver, he discovered coal in the Udi Ridge. Colonial Governor of Nigeria Frederick Lugard took keen interest in the discovery, and by 1914 the first shipment of coal was made to Britain. As mining activities increased in the area, a permanent cosmopolitan settlement emerged, supported by a railway system. Enugu acquired township status in 1917, and became strategic to British interests. Foreign businesses began to move into Enugu, the most notable of which were John Holt, Kingsway Stores, British Bank of West Africa and United Africa Company.

From Enugu, the British administration was able to spread their influence over the Southern Province of Nigeria. The colonial past of Enugu is today evidenced by the Georgian building types and meandering narrow roads within the residential area originally reserved for the whites, an area which is today called the Government Reserved Area (GRA).

From being the capital of the Southern Provinces, Enugu became the capital of the Eastern Region (now divided into nine States), then the capital of East Central State, Anambra State, (old) Enugu State, and now the capital of the present Enugu State through a process of state creation and diffusion of administrative authority.

Government in Enugu State occurs at two levels, state and local. Overall authority is exercised by the Executive Governor, elected by popular mandate. Political authority is exercised under a presidential system of government. There is also a popularly elected legislature, the Enugu State House of Assembly.

The current Governor of Enugu State is Sullivan Chime, who was the Commissioner of Justice under former governor Chimaroke Nnamani.

[edit] Administrative divisions

There are 17 Local Government Areas in Enugu State:

Economically, the state is predominantly rural and agrarian, with a substantial proportion of its working population engaged in farming, although trading (18.8%) and services (12.9%) are also important. In the urban areas trading is the dominant occupation, followed by services. A small proportion of the population is also engaged in manufacturing activities, with the most pronounced among them located in Enugu, Oji, Ohebedim and Nsukka.

[edit] Energy

Electricity supply is relatively stable in Enugu. The Oji River Power Station (which used to supply electricity to all of Eastern Nigeria) is located in Enugu State. With the deregulation of electricity generation in Nigeria, and the proposed privatisation of the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), the State Government would assist private investors to negotiate the take over and reactivation of the Oji Power Station. This is more so with the proximity of the Enugu coal mines to the power station, a driving distance of about 20 minutes.

[edit] Education

Every community in Enugu State has at least one primary school and one secondary school, funded and run by Government. There are also large number 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 and Technology (ESUT), Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Enugu, Enugu State College of Education Technical, Enugu, Caritas University, Amorji-Nike, Renaissance University, Ugbawka, Our Saviour’s Institute of Science and Technology, Enugu, and the Federal College of Education, Eha-Amufu. There are also a host of private computer schools and training centres concentrated in Enugu and Nsukka.

[edit] Medicine

The University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) is located in Enugu State, as is the Enugu State University Teaching Hospital and College of Medicine. In addition to numerous private hospitals and clinics in the State, there are seven District Hospitals at Enugu Urban, Udi, Agbani, Awgu, Ikem, Enugu-Ezike, and Nsukka and at least one health center or cottage hospital in every one of the seventeen (17) Local Government Areas and thirty nine (39) Development Centres in the State.

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