Enugu a winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2007, was born in Enugu in 1977 and grew up in Nsukka. The Enugu Rangers, a first-division professional league association football team, is Enugu's home team that plays in the Nigerian Premier League and are based in the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium. Former Rangers players include Jay-Jay Okocha and Taribo West. Enugu's main sports centre is the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, named after Nnamdi Azikiwe, the first president of Nigeria. The stadium remained the centre of sports for the whole of the Eastern Region until the Nigerian Civil War broke out. At the
Enugu the 2006 Nigerian census, the Enugu metropolitan area has an estimated population of 722,664. This estimate along with population estimates of other Nigerian cities have been disputed with accusations of population inflation and deflation in favour of the northern part of the country. The population of Enugu is predominantly Christian, as is the rest of southeastern Nigeria. Like the rest of Nigeria most people in Enugu speak Nigerian English alongside the dominant language in the region. In this case the dominant language is Igbo. Nigerian English, or "pidgin" (a mix of English and indigenous words) is often used because of