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
Fall of Enugu Nigeria's Mid-Western Region in an attempt to divert attention away from Enugu. The invasion of August 9 was a tremendous success for the Biafrans and was followed by a sort of 44-day stalemate, before it was broken by the Nigerian 2nd Division's invasion of Ore. Biafran soldiers retreated from the region on September 20, 1967 and fled back to their homeland, pursued by Nigerian soldiers. The commander of Nigerian troops stationed in Nsukka, General Obasanjo, was relieved of his command and replaced with Lt. Col. Theophilus Danjuma. Due to a flank attack by Biafran units at Ebe, the Nigerian 22nd