Geographical Location
Situated on much of the highlands of Awgu-Udi-Nsukka hills and the rolling low lands of the Idodo River basin to the East and Oji River basin to the West, the State is bounded by five other states; namely Anambra, Abia, Ebonyi, Benue and Kogi states. It spreads southwards to the borders with Abia and Northwards to Benue State. Apart from a chain of low hills running through Abakaliki in neighbouring Ebonyi State in the East to Nsukka in the West and then Southwards through Enugu and Awgu, the rest of the state is made up of low lands, crisscrossed by numerous streams and rivulets of which the major ones are the Adada, Oji, Ekulu, Nyama, Nvene and Ajalli Rivers.
Geographical Location
Situated on much of the highlands of Awgu-Udi-Nsukka hills and the rolling low lands of the Idodo River basin to the East and Oji River basin to the West, the State is bounded by five other states; namely Anambra, Abia, Ebonyi, Benue and Kogi states. It spreads southwards to the borders with Abia and Northwards to Benue State. Apart from a chain of low hills running through Abakaliki in neighbouring Ebonyi State in the East to Nsukka in the West and then Southwards through Enugu and Awgu, the rest of the state is made up of low lands, crisscrossed by numerous streams and rivulets of which the major ones are the Adada, Oji, Ekulu, Nyama, Nvene and Ajalli Rivers.
The people
Enugu State has a population of 3,257,298(2006 Census) with a population density that is two and a half times the national average. Its people are lgbo by ethnic grouping. They are widely known to be hospitable, very resourceful and hard-working. Skilled manpower resources are therefore readily available in almost every sphere of human endeavour. The vernacular spoken is lgbo but English is widely used and a visitor can make himself understood even in the humblest hamlet if he can speak a modicum of English.
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, mostly the public service, although the private sector, encouraged by the present state government’s investment friendly disposition, is gaining increasing impetus.
Industries in Enugu
A number of industries were established by the Government of Enugu State to utilize the abundant raw materials and agricultural produce of the State and also offer employment opportunities to the indigenes. Some of the industries pre-dated the creation of the State. Virtually all the industries have now been slated for full or partial privatization. Here is a resume of the State-owned industrial establishments:
Nigergas Company Limited, Emene
The Nigergas plant, located at Emene, near Enugu, was established to produce industrial gas such as acetylene, using carbide as the major raw material, and oxygen gas for medical use tapping oxygen from the atmosphere. Although the company now produces only industrial gases, it would on completion of the on-going revitalization exercises start producing domestic gas.
Emenite Limited:
The Company is located at Emene. Its main products are pressure pipes and fibre cement building products. Emenite products are known countrywide for their high quality and the industry has the capacity to meet large scale orders.
Niger-Steel Industry Limited, Emene:
The industry built in 1961, and located at Emene has the capacity to produce a wide range of steel products, including iron bars, rods, steels billets, ingots, wire gauze, and can convert some steel materials into useable products. It also has the capacity to fabricate machine tools and industrial spare parts.
Sunrise Flour Mill Limited, Emene:
The infrastructures of this multi-million Naira industry almost dominate the entire Emene industrial landscape. The mill is set up to produce baking flour needed in the bakery industries through the processing of grains. It has the capacity to mill 200 metric tones of wheat daily.
Investment Opportunities in Enugu State
Enugu state has enormous investment opportunities for both local and international investors in the agricultural, industrial and tourism sectors. The government offers irresistible incentives in form of office land allocation, tax holiday and easy repatriation of profit to investors. All foreign investors are also covered by the bilateral investment protection agreement between Nigeria and some countries. In addition, the basic infrastructure for investment such as water and electricity, reliable communication network and cheap labour are available in the state. The brightest investment potentials are in the agro-allied industrial sector, solid minerals and tourism development. Government is also working to set up an exclusive export-oriented industrial estate for the location of manufacturing concerns in the following businesses: Textile, Foot wear and toys.
Enugu the capital of Enugu State is the safe home for the majority of the Igbos of South Eastern Nigeria, due to the peaceful nature and socioeconomic development that allows for mutual understanding among different ethnic group of its dwellers. The City is also known for its cuisine, small industrial and of course, the local palm wine.
Enugu in its important administrative, industrial and commercial centre in the eastern part of southern Nigeria, has served, at various times, as the headquarters of the Central, Southern (1929) and Eastern Provinces (1939), capital of the Eastern Region (1951), the East Central State (1967), Anambra State (1976), and Enugu State (1991). In 1967, a series of political crises led to the secession of the Eastern Region from the rest of Nigeria and the declaration of the independent state of Biafra, with Enugu as its capital. Civil war broke out and lasted for nearly three years, at the end of which the Biafra resistance was defeated. Enugu has therefore been a major administrative centre since colonial times. Its administrative hinterland has, however, been reduced in size over the years as a result of the creation of nine states out of the former Eastern Region.
In a bid to Explore the characteristics of the major feature of it metropolitan, there is the need to critically analyze the role of the colonial in urban development of the Enugu. The overall effect of the colonial rules was to create a number of centers and Islands of political authority, intensified economic activity, and concentrated investment and income where urban growth was stimulated.
Also in 1917, Enugu became a township under Lord Lugard’s Township Ordinance, which provided for the creation, constitution and administration of all towns and municipal in Nigeria with the exception of those native towns where the population was sufficiently homogenous for it to be administered by a Native Administration. The importance of coal in the settlement’s growth and development of Enugu cannot be over emphasized, that which it has retained despite the diminished importance of coal in its economy. The population shows an overwhelming dominance of the Igbo ethnic group. As in much of urban Nigeria, the dominant culture is essentially a hybrid of indigenous and Western/colonial socio-cultural practices.
As in other South Eastern towns and cities, the urban economy is dominated by informal enterprises in retail trade, small-scale industrial production, utility and financial services provision and urban agriculture. A study carried out by Umeh (1993, p. 110) in Ogui Nike (a typical high density residential neighborhood) showed mixed land uses and congestion. In some of the streets surveyed, it was found that more than 80 percent of the buildings contained a mixture of residential rooms and such other uses as craft shops, small hotel buildings and bars, grocery and drug stores, carpentry, watch repairing and other workshops.
It is a trade center for the yams, cassava (manioc), corn (maize) pigeon peas, palm produce, rice, onions and cattle raised by the Igbos of the surrounding area.