Exploring Enugu: My 042 experience.

 

Kosi, nnoo (LOL. Nnoo meaning ‘welcome’ in Igbo)

The words Enugu (Nsukka, precisely) whispered to me the day I arrived. I already had high expectations of this state. Popularly called 042/Coal City State, Enugu is located in the South-eastern part of Nigeria. 

One of my favorite things about Enugu (Nsukka precisely) is the uniquely beautiful trees and flowers. From yellow to red to purple, there was a color for every tree and flower.

Check them out yourself.

Aha! Food. As an up-and-coming foodie, I was determined to try out every dish I could lay my hands on in Nsukka. I liked Okpa and ayaraya ji from the get-go. As for igbangwu and ayaraya oka, I’ll pass. When I crossed over to Enugu, I did some more trying outs. My favorite places were Shoprite (the food court consisted of restaurants like Crunchies, Kilimanjaro, KFC, and so on), Spar, Roban stores, The Base Landmark, Pizza square, Suyatown, Shawarma delight, Crunchies, Breeze bar, The Sahara (they make the tastiest pizza). If I don’t remember any at this point, it’s not intentional.

As someone that was born and brought up in Lagos, experiencing traffic wasn’t a question. It was a matter of how long it would last. Fortunately, Enugu was nothing like that. I would plan to get to somewhere 20 minutes after I hit the road and really get there in 20. The major modes of public transportation are tricycles, buses, and cabs (imagine my shock when I couldn’t get a bike). 

I’d like to call Enugu ‘sleepy state”. On the average, vendors and business owners have a late start (if you call 9am late). Why open late when you’ll still close up early? Anyway, not everyone is infected with the notorious Lagos hustle spirit.

The markets, hmmm. The markets! Ogbete Main Market is one of the most chaotic markets I’ve been to. Of course, there are other markets I’ve been to like Ogige Main Market (Nsukka), New Market, Kenyatta Market, Mayor Market. The ones I’ve not been to: New Artisan Market, Old Artisan Market, Gariki Market.

I didn’t do much as regards recreation, thanks to being a Medical Student in UNEC (always after my time and funds, LOL). Visiting Jadakinda park was a plan that never materialized (the Keke man almost took us to Ebonyi state o). However, I and my friends were able to visit Oakland Park (I’m on the brink of laughter just remembering how that day went), Unity Park (with the humongous lion stature in it), the games area and Ferris wheel in Shoprite (if that counts), Nike Lake and resort. Revival City is in a class of its own. I’d like to call it relaxing and a great place for reflection as well. When I needed to retreat from the craziness that life sometimes is, I would go there. That’s also where the 32nd NAFECMLSS National Conference was hosted in 2023. 

So, what are the pros and cons of living in Enugu. I’ll start with the pros:

• Little or no traffic (if there is a traffic jam, then something actually went wrong)
• Varieties of food, giving you a lot of options to choose from
• Cost of transportation is fair
• You can get by, even if you can’t speak Igbo

Hmm...the cons:

• Water is not easily available to everyone. You might have to pay for every drop of water you use (either you have a well or you have a water tank and money to fill the tank)
• Cost of housing is ridiculous. The agent, lawyer and damages fee are almost half of the rent in most cases.
• The weather is always on the extremes. It’s either too hot or too cold.
• If you meet a vendor with excellent customer care, hold them tight o. E get why.

P.S: If you ever go to Ogbete Main Market, never go there as a lady with hair unmade. Avoid getting in the way of barrows that resemble shovels and keep your bag in plain sight (uhm, right in front of you). 

Just wanted to chip that in.

Any experiences about Enugu you’d love to share? I can’t wait to read it!

“Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow”

James 1:17 NLT