The return of the gardens

Parks and gardens were created for relaxation, their conversion to restaurants and viewing centres forced their removal by the past FCT Administration but they are fast making a return.

Gbenga Olowokere relocated from Lagos to Abuja and discovered that there were no relaxing spots where he could cool off the stress from daily activities at work places. It became a thing of worry for him considering where he relocated from, Lagos, known for its social activities. And when news filtered in that the then minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai was going to introduce parks and garden, it became a thing of joy for him.

Olowokere is just one of the many residents in Abuja, who relocated to Abuja from social cities like Lagos, Onitsha, Port Harcourt, Kano, Ibadan and Kaduna, and appeared trapped due to lack of relaxing spots to cool off stress.

The then minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, introduced parks and gardens where people could relax with their friends and families in form of picnic. It is also to boost the FCT Administration’s Internally-Generated Revenue, IGR drive through the collection of revenue by the Department of Parks and Recreation.

The talk of the town at that time was why should exotic buildings be demolished and the land devoted for planting of trees, grass as well as  flowers in the name of establishing gardens, parks and open places.

Before the introduction of the parks and gardens, residents of Abuja were used to the ‘parlour system’, where people crowd themselves in a hall to drink and listen to music or watch television.

However, shortly after the el-Rufai’s administration, the parks and gardens which were supposed to be picnic metamorphosed into relaxing spots where you can have varieties of activities like eating, drinking, listening to music or live band. Some have also introduced viewing centres where one can watch football matches for a token.

Though our findings show that the older ‘parlour-type’ of relaxation still exists in a couple of hotels and motels, but most residents prefer the parks and gardens.

An Abuja resident, David Okoro believes that different spots in the territory will give a first-time visitor to Abuja options when deciding where he or she chooses to go or spend quality leisure time; whether to stay in a parlour-like spot or parks and gardens.

Meanwhile, the lush-green parks, gardens and open spaces also serve as places where people have occasions like parties, weddings, meetings, amongst others.

Most of the parks and gardens are privately-run hence they have upper hand in attracting Abuja residents. Civil servants, business people and even diplomatic community go out to such places to spend quality time.

Even when other parks and gardens were closed by the past FCT Administration for violating the purpose for their introduction, the Maitama Park, City Park and others in highbrow areas were left to continue to operating.

It was alleged that the parks and gardens in Maitama, Asokoro and other high brow areas are owned and run by some top shots in government and politicians hence the existence.

There are allegations also that the return of the parks and gardens to their former way operations with different activities was influenced by some of the owners especially those in the FCT Administration.

Meanwhile, apart from Maitama Parks and Gardens, which is being run by a board of private investors, City Park is one of the biggest and most popular privately run parks in Abuja. Millennium Park, Jabi Lake Park, among others are run by the FCT administration. Residents, visitors and tourists gather in these places especially during public holidays and national festivities to unwind and relax.

Some of the parks and gardens our correspondent visited have beautiful landscaped lawns with television and music to watch and listen to. Some have world class facilities like swimming pool, lawn tennis court, open hall, well-equipped fitness centre, children playground, just to mention a few.

We gathered that some hotel owners have also ventured into the ownership of Parks and Gardens because of how lucrative the business is. A staff in the FCTA confided in this magazine that most of the Gardens and Parks that have world class facilities like swimming pool, lawn tennis court, and others are mostly owned by hotel operators.

Our findings revealed that most of the Gardens and Parks with world class facilities always witness beehive of activities hence it is a ‘Mecca’ of sorts for the business class, high-caliber civil servants, politicians, tourists and some special people in the society.

A regular visitor spotted at one of the Parks, who simply gave his name as Mr. Eric, said the place is the best to relax. He said he was tired of the parlour system he met on ground when he first came to Abuja. According to him, apart from the different activities noticed at the Parks and Gardens all across the territory, he also receives fresh air from the natural grasses and trees around the place. He claimed that the only place one could get similar satisfaction is hotel but their fees are exorbitant.

He disclosed that he is surprised that most of the Parks now have lawn tennis. He said he has played on many tennis courts but to his greatest surprise, the ones at the Parks are also of standard like others.

Meanwhile, apart from Ibiza spots, which attract people from all walks of life including first-time visitors to Abuja from Lagos and Port-Harcourt, other operators of parlour system are not finding business easy.

Also apart from the activities that go on the parks and gardens across the territory, some tourism experts believe that the Parks also add additional beauty to the city. Before the advent of Parks and Gardens in the territory, people leave the city on Friday and return either on Sunday or Monday.

While some travel every weekend to see their family members and also used the opportunity to have fun in their former bases, others go to the neighbouring states like Nasarawa, Niger, Kaduna, to catch fun.

We carried out an investigation then and discovered that people go as far as Suleja, Zimbabwe in Nasarawa state because of the absence of quality recreational and fun spots.

Our findings have shown that since the return of Parks and Gardens in the territory, the roads are always jam-packed over the weekend unlike what it used to be in the past. Apart from the Parks and Gardens, more recreational areas have also sprung up.

A recent report by FCT MDG Baseline 2010 puts the extent of satisfaction with current parks and recreational facilities in the Federal Capital City at over 62 percent. In terms of recreational facilities, over 53 percent people interviewed were satisfied, while about 70 percent were satisfied with the vegetation in the parks, while most communities were satisfied with the number of parks, recreational facilities, city trees and park trees’ in Abuja.

The MDG report stated that since parks and recreational centers are places for leisure as well as relaxation, many activities can take place beyond the conventional activities of bar, shop, game, restaurants. The report also listed the activities engaged in city parks and recreational facilities to include restaurants, bars, shops, and games among others.  It revealed that 23 percent go to the parks for games, 21 percent for restaurants, 18 percent for bars and 11 percent for shopping, while about 27 percent go for other activities.