As one of the ‘new towns’ of tropical Africa which arose as a result of contact with Europe,
Enugu was intended primarily for white colonial officials, then, if need be, a few native
(indigenous) labourers – colliers, railway men and domestic servants – whose services were
‘absolutely essential’. However, due to the pressing need for labour to service the colliery and the
railway, Enugu – the oldest urban area in the Igbo-speaking world – witnessed unprecedented
population immigration, growth, and eventually, explosion. The rate of its transformation into an
urban social space, welcoming peoples of diverse cultures and varied areas of life, has been
dramatic and phenomenal. Taking its historical period of study from the time of the ‘founding’ its
in 1915 up to 1990, this paper interrogates the historical sociology of migration into Enugu and the
city’s transition from a rural social space to an urban existence. It explores the trends, dynamics,
patterns, and politics of regulation of migration in the city. It also engages the colonial official
notion of Enugu’s transformation as a “regrettable necessity” which was frowned upon, and further
illuminates the implications of diversity in the area and the factors underlying the adaptations of
Enugu migrants in the face of challenges and competitions to urban life.
This paper argues that the colliery and the railway, and the other minor service outfits they
caused into being, attracted waves of immigrants into the newly emergent township. In terms of
regulation, the paper demonstrates how immigration into Enugu was unrestricted, uncontrolled and
undirected, leading to the undesired population explosion of the town with its attendant
consequences. This, it argues, was the fault of colonial officialdom. It further demonstrates how
migrants’ social life organisation in Enugu dwells in ‘duality’ – divided between city life and
allegiance to home (traditional) communities, and how the vagaries of urban life necessitated the
emergence of ethnic associations and social movements and also created multiple identities.
Furthermore, the nature of the interactions between migration and urbanization in Enugu draws
attention to the shifting and complex socio-economic relations between and among migrants and
the government, be it colonial or indigenous. The study is based on archival materials, oral sources
and textual materials.