The emir of Kano

The former central banker, pictured above riding a horse accompanied by his body guards, was made Muhammadu Sanusi II, the 14th Emir of Kano in June.

A grandson of the 11th Emir of Kano and prince in the royal family, Sanusi was governor of the Central Bank from 2009 to 2013, when President Goodluck Jonathan suspended him after he exposed massive corruption at the state oil firm. Critics said Sanusi had no right to use his post as a pulpit from which to preach about corruption.

Sanusi, whose policies are credited with stabilising the naira and bringing inflation in Africa's second biggest economy to single digits, told Reuters in February his position in one of Kano's leading families had given him a psychological boost.

"If you're a prince you don't have fear of power. You are not intimidated by authority because you've grown up around it," he said.

Reuters visited Sanusi as he ruled as emir in his palace, an elaborately decorated place within the historic walled city.

Sanusi’s kingdom is under the authority of the Sokoto Caliphate, a relic of an Islamic empire created by Fulani Islamic scholar and jihadist Usman Dan Fodio.

At the turn of the 19th century it comprised northern Nigeria and parts of modern-day Niger, Benin and Cameroon, before British and French colonists carved these places up between themselves nearly a century later.

In Zaria, a nearby emirate to Kano, the palace features a sumptuous gate adorned with colourful designs.

The British left the traditional Islamic kingdoms of the north intact, unlike the kingdoms and chieftancies of the largely Christian south over which they ruled more directly.

The result: although on paper they play a ceremonial role, emirs can wield great influence.

“Real legitimacy still lies with the emirs,” argues Umar Muhammad Labdo (pictured above), dean of humanities at Northwest Univerity in Kano.

“The emirate system emanated from inside the people themselves, they are the ones who built this system based on their traditions and their beliefs,” he said.

Even though the throne of Kano has few formal constitutional powers, it has significant influence over the region's Muslims.

The emirs also face great challenges, however.

Unrest has plagued northern Nigeria, going far beyond slogans such as “Death to America,” seen here scrawled across a wall.

An Islamist Boko Haram insurgency that is increasingly targeting Kano has not spared traditional rulers it regards as self-serving and not strict enough in their application of Sharia or Islamic law.

Boko Haram were suspected of being behind an attack on the convoy of Sanusi's predecessor, Ado Abdullahi Bayero, in January last year that killed four of his body guards.