Milliken Hill: In My Lifetime…By Bianca Odumegwu Ojukwu
Today I had to pass through the legendary Milliken Hill, constructed almost a century ago by the British colonial government when coal was discovered in Enugu, and named after the head engineer who designed the road. The road was constructed in those days ( from 1909 )by the sheer efforts of vast numbers of Labourers drawn from the neighboring villages, using pick and axe to cut through the huge boulders and the dense forest. This was my first time in many months.
This rollercoaster of a road is the umbilical cord that binds Enugu to to my paternal home community of Ngwo, 100 meters above sea level. There is no other road that offers a more breathtaking panoramic view of the sprawling Enugu metropolis as the Milliken Hill road peak.
During my childhood, I had to pass through this meandering road on a daily basis in order to attend elementary school at All Saints School, Enugu.
This is a road that holds so many fond memories most especially that picturesque brook at the hilly rock where we used to halt in order to fill up our water bottles with the purest spring water available for our school lunchtime break.
This was a high risk engagement…alas, we did not realize this at the time. Innocence and a sense of immortality are great premiums that come with childhood. Even today, I can still predict almost instinctively every sharp bend and turn of this fright inducing and previously thread narrow road.
Beneath the Milliken Hill lies the Iva Valley where there exists a waterfall within a natural cave. It was also rumored to be the habitat of leopards, pythons and all manner of wild animals. As a matter of fact, one of the resident pythons in the thick forest valley was reputed to have swallowed whole a hapless Nigerian soldier at the end of the Biafra war, leaving behind only one of his boots to convey a stern warning to other intending intruders.
This was also the valley of the shadow of death; a veritable death trap and the scene of so many horrific accidents involving so many cars that had tumbled into the deep ravine below. Many drivers would perform the sign of the cross before approaching this stretch. Many decades of neglect had taken its toll on the historic road.
Today, however, the story is different. Weaving through this 4.8km winding road I felt I was literally on the Grand Canyon freeway. The massive restoration works on Milliken Hill road have turned it into a leisure rider’s dream. I never believed I could witness this remarkable transformation in my lifetime…
The road has been expansively widened, there are functional street lights, Jersey Kerbs, security posts…Milliken Hill is now a traveller’s delight.
Kudos to the visionary Governor Ugwuanyi Of Enugu State for the laudable feat in preserving this magnificent heritage site and national treasure for future generations. My father would have been very proud. And so am I today. Your Excellency, May your shadow never grow dim.
May God transport each and every one of us safely to our various destinations to perform our civic duty and cast our votes . And May He have mercy on our country.