Kano is Close to my heart. It’s the oldest city in West Africa, populated by almost nine million people, most of them Muslim. It’s hot, crowded, dusty and ugly, but I spent four happy months there during three visits in the 1990s.

The other carved out a living by driving around visiting academics who, like me, spent a lot of time on the back of his motorcycle breathing in exhaust.

Traditional leaders meet to settle an issue over a villager’s drainage ditch. I hired two part-time guides to help with driving and translation (in Kano you still couldn't rent a car). One was the editor of a weekly English language newspaper and the head of a private secondary school — he needed a third job.

I was researching a book I called "Peace In The House" about how marriages work when they are conservative Islamic and polygamous.

As for the conservative Islam practiced by the Hausa people — I saw much about it that was good. All religions encourage people to be good and do good, and Islam is no exception. Most of it's followers say they seek a way of life that is peaceful and generous, and if there are problems it's not the religion's fault.

There was still very little crime in Kano in 2010 because traditional rulers, practicing Shariah, solved a lot of conflicts before they became violent. The attitude towards women, however, did upset me, though I came to see the issue as complicated and my western perspective limited.