In 1903, the Kano City Walls were described as being 'the most impressive monument in West Africa'; but, despite many pleas to the authorities concerned over the last century, the walls have been allowed to decay and even to be built over by the rich. In recent years, the better preserved walls near the Kwiambana gate have become hidden behind new houses and shops. Reconstructions have either been fanciful and non-historic or far too low - nowhere reaching more than half the 18 metre height recorded by Barth and other C19th visitors. The western section of the wall is the best section to see; but it requires using the track outside or walking along its course. The southern and eastern sides, in particular, have been beset either side by vast borrow-pits for house-building leaving only a narrow walkway between - this being very slippery owing to the loose grit from the clayey grus. The original narrow entrance gateways have also been widened for modern traffic. This overall loss of integrity was, sadly, the main reason for not listing the Kano City Walls as a priority site in the original Tentative List.