There are a number of gardens or recreational places in Kano, and most of these have suffered neglect over the years.

Recreation is any activity done during one's leisure time according to Wikipedia. As such it is often regarded as any activity done to regain energy after perhaps a tedious day at work. In the busy city of Kano a lot of people, especially the working class and many within the business circle, do not have time for recreational activities.

Most of the time people assume they have less to offer by visiting sites designed specifically for recreational purposes, unless it is a festive period. As such these parks are sometimes underutilized, which leads to the collapse of such places.

Many are preoccupied with every day hustles that they hardly give a second thought to relax. Some feel it's not even worth it, while a few cannot get to organize such a time within their schedule, especially with the commercial pull in the city, which keeps people busy even at odd hours of the day.

The intriguing issue is that many living in Kano don't know the importance of taking time to relax, and would not bother to be informed. Malam Dalhatu Sada, a retired teacher, says he believes in recreation, but has a lot of priorities such as feeding his 20 member family and catering for their other basic needs, that he would not have the time to visit such parks for recreation.

Adamu Garba, a trader, is of the view that his instincts will not allow him to visit such places, because he feels exposed. He explained that he has no faith in staying outdoors while relaxing, but prefers being inside the house with his family when the need arises.

However, the chairman of the Nigerian Environmental Society, Mallam Umar Sale Anka, says the parks are not really deserted only because of the attitudinal changes, but also because of the fact that people are concerned about the type of persons found in the places.

He said a lot of the people you find in the parks are people whom you may not wish to associate with. For instance, call girls make some of these places waiting grounds, or where they can meet men, and as such a lot of responsible people would not want to be found there.

He also noted that some of the parks are not secure enough for one to bring his family. Because there isn't any provision for security, you find all sorts of people inside, which make the parks vulnerable. "If the government wants these parks to be utilized, then it should provide security for the places, and then people will begin to patronize them more," Anka said.

Ado Salisu, a staff of thee power holding company of Nigeria, holds the view that recreation in the parks is a good thing, and he involves his family in it. He admits that it is fun to take his kids to hills and valleys, a private resort on the outskirts of Kano, from time to time, and they enjoy it. He believes that the parks are good places to relax, and he is not much concerned about the nature of the place or who goes there.

Bashir Abba Abubakar, the director, ecological and forestry at the Kano ministry of environment, says the parks were not really underutilized, but agrees that they are not put into complete working shape. He said over the years the parks have solely been kept and maintained by the government. It employs gardeners, cleaners and watchmen to look after them, but being overburdened by all these, the government in the last ten years, has entered into partnerships with private concerns.

He said the Nassarawa hospital park was one of the parks that were taken over by private hands. Specifically, a foreign company has secured the place, and their nationals do come to relax. After given them a test trial, he said they made the park a wonderful place to visit. He said the government has developed more than half of the parks, and have let them out in portions to commercial operators. For example the one at Lodge road has three operators, he said.

Bashir Abba said there are over 21 parks in the whole of Kano, and he can assure that ten have been rehabilitated. He adds that the budgetary provision is annually taken, and if the place is maintained in the next five years most of them will have been repaired.

He also agreed that some of the commercial operators allocated these parks, have not put in place the desired structures and repairs needed, like the one at Audu Bako by State road. After nine months, he said the commissioner of environment is on the verge of terminating the contract.

He also said there are areas where the public interest surpasses other needs, and he cited the Kundila Park where the community has been utilizing the park for Friday prayers, and have recently extended the use for Eid congregation as permitted by the Emirate council. In his view the culture of going to an open place to relax is not very common, and he sees the children found there, as also utilizing the place as citizens.

But for Engineer Bala Abdullahi, it all depends on individual understanding of what it takes to relax, and gain the benefits of relaxation. He argued that relaxation should not only be secluded to a particular environment, but the need for such places to exist and to be beautified, brings pride not only to the authorities but to the people of the state. He said there are parks around the world, and wonders why Kano's park should be neglected.

The plight of the parks will only be resolved if the authorities would bring out new policies that would ensure the sustainability or the maintenance of the parks. Moreover, the need for the citizen's enlightenment of the physical, social as well as health benefits of these parks are desirable, if maximum utilization of the parks is to be attained.