I’ve been a fan of phyno for some years now and I really enjoy his music quite well. Despite the fact that I don’t understand Igbo language or any of his lyrics, I still enjoy his songs.
What’s there not to like: fada fada, Alobam, financial woman and my personal favourite – so far so good …and the list goes on. You can call me a part of the naija afro pop movement too .
One thing I’ve observed in most of his songs is the “042” he uses in most of them, from “augment” to “link up” even in songs he got featured on, I’m sure you’ve heard him make reference to 042 a couple of times too.
I’ve asked almost everyone including real estate agents around me but no one seems to know what 042 is or can give a clear meaning to it.
In my quest to find out what 042 means, I found out that Zoro a.k.a SwagBag dedicated a whole track titled 042(Coal city state of mind) all to this number, one begins to wonder what’s in this name. Then again, I found out that nigga raw had called this same number a couple of times in his songs back in the days.
A quick background check on the three artistes reveals that they are all from Enugu state, so it’s no secret that the 042 tag is only given to Enugu state, the coal city.
The search results for 042 on Instagram and Facebook is overwhelming, I found different pages and groups all posting pictures and links related to the coal city of Enugu state.
So, Why is Enugu Called O42?
O42 is Enugu’s local dialling code. Yes, that its and nothing more.
Years ago when landlines were still in use, If you needed to reach someone in Enugu from another state through a landline all you had to do was add “042” followed by the person’s number and make the Call. Dial codes for other cities in the south east include: Aba -082 , Ababkaliki – 043, Owerri – 083, Umuahia – 088 but most don’t sound as catchy as Enugu’s 042
The popularity of the number “042” can be attributed to the pop culture; the use by influential musicians and celebrities helped popularize the number just like what we have in the US.
Beautiful places in Enugu state
Here are some of the beautiful places you should visit on your next visit to the coal city :
Ngwo Cave, Pine and Waterfall
The picture might look like a movie at first, believe it or not it’s one of the beautiful places in enugu state. The beautiful Ngwo pine forest has the cave and waterfall.
Awhum Water Fall and Cave.
Awhum water fall is located at Amaugwe village of Awhum town in Udi Local Government Area, Enugu state. The Awhumh waterfall is 30 meteres high and is believed to have special healing powers and powers to cast away evill spells.
Udi Hills
Underneath the beautiful udi hills lie the coal mines. The Udi hills, about hundreds of meteres above sea level was the site of the first coal mine opened in Nigeria way back in 1915.
Ezeagu Tourist Complex
The ezeagu tourist complex is located at Obinofia Ihuezi village, ezeagu local government area in enugu state. It has a 23 meter high waterfall called ogbagada , a three kilometre cave and a flowing natural stream.
Akwuke-Atakwu “Beach”
As many would argue that this doesn’t look anywhere like a beach, it’s still one of the most beautiful places in Enugu state. It’s a perfect hang out location with friends during holidays and the festive seasons.