Enugu ( ; ) is the capital city of Enugu State in Nigeria. It is located in southeastern part of Nigeria. The city had a population of 820,000 according to the last Nigerian census. The name Enugu is derived from the two Igbo words Énú Ụ́gwụ́, meaning "hill top", denoting the city's hilly geography. Enugu acquired township status in 1917 and was called Enugwu-Ngwo, but because of the rapid expansion towards areas owned by other indigenous communities, the city was renamed Enugu in 1928.
Since the 17th century the location of present-day Enugu has been inhabited by the Enugwu-Ngwo and Nike ( ) subgroup of the Igbo people. In 1900, the Southern Nigeria Protectorate was established by the colonial administration of the British Empire. The discovery of coal by the colonists led to the creation of what was then known as the Enugu Coal Camp, named after the nearby village of Enugu Ngwo, under which coal was first found. The nearby city of Port Harcourt was created for the purpose of shipping this coal abroad, being located south of the camp. Coal mining opportunities in Enugu attracted people from throughout the region; this marked the core of the first urban settlement of what is today known as simply Enugu. Enugu developed as one of the few cities in West Africa created entirely from European contact. By 1958 Enugu had over 8,000 coal miners. there are no significant coal mining activities left in the city.
Enugu became the capital of the Eastern Region after Nigeria's independence in 1960; a succession of territorial adjustments in 1967, 1976 and 1991 led to Enugu becoming the capital of what is now Enugu State. On 30 May 1967 Enugu was declared the capital of the short-lived Republic of Biafra; for this Enugu is known as the "capital of Igboland." After Enugu was captured by the Nigerian armed forces, the Biafran capital was moved to Umuahia.
Industries in the city include the urban market and bottling industries. Enugu is also one of the primary filming locations for directors of the Nigerian movie industry, dubbed "Nollywood". Enugu's main airport is the Akanu Ibiam International Airport.
The 2006 national census in Nigeria estimated the population of Enugu state at 3,267,837. While males constitute 48.84% of the population, the female population constitute 51.16% (1,596,042 males and 1,671,795 females). However, demographers have indicated that the actual population of Enugu state is around 6 million. Enugu state has three senatorial zones namely; Enugu North, Enugu East and Enugu West.
History
Early history
The first settlement in the Enugu area was the small Nike village of Ogui, which was present since the era of the Atlantic Slave Trade. Nike in the Igbo language means "with strength or power." It was through slave raiding that the Nike people acquired most of their lands, which were mostly unsettled. The Nike used slaves for a defence strategy, placing Slave camps at the edge of their territories so that it was harder for an enemy to access the free born. The Nike people were allied to the Aro people who formed the Aro Confederacy (1690–1901) which was an Igbo Organisation that controlled slave trading in the Enugu area. Along with the Aro people who came to trade from Arochukwu in the south were the Hausa people who came to trade from the north. The Hausa traders provided horses to the Nike which were used for rituals by the Igbo. Both the Aro and Hausa migrated back and forth to what is now the city of Enugu and were considered foreigners to the area.
Industrialisation
A British campaign to invade Arochukwu and open up the hinterland for British military and political rule was carried out in 1901. A war between the British and Aro officially started on 1 December 1901 lasting till 24 March 1902 when the Aro were defeated. The Aro Confederacy ended and the rest of Aro dominated areas was added to The Colony and Protectorate of Southern Nigeria, declared in 1900. Europeans first arrived in the Enugu area in 1903 when the British/Australian geologist Albert Ernest Kitson led an exploration of the Southern Nigeria Protectorate to search for especially valued mineral resources under the supervision of the Imperial Institute, London. By 1909 coal was found under the village of Enugwu Ngwo in the Udi and Okoga areas, and by 1913 the coal was confirmed to be in quantities that would be viable commercially. By 1914 the colonial government had already merged the Northern and Southern Nigeria Protectorate to form the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria.