In one of his column, Farooq Kperogi, revisited his previous article on uncommon Muslim names in Nigeria—names that, according to him, don’t seem to have clear connections with the broader Muslim world. Among the names he mentioned was Badamasi.
Kperogi noted that some of his readers attempted to trace the origins of Badamasi, linking it to an Arab poet whose work was studied by advanced students in traditional Arabic schools in Hausaland. They explained that this poet’s book, a Sufi poem, was widely used for Arabic vocabulary lessons and eventually became known as Badamasi, named after its author.
However, Kperogi admitted that he had not found scholarly evidence confirming that Badamasi was the name of an Arab poet. Instead, he pointed to a 19th-century Muslim scholar and poet from Ilorin named Badamasi, whose poetry was commonly used to enhance Arabic vocabulary in traditional Islamic schools. Still, it remained unclear whether he was the original bearer of the name.
While both Kperogi and his readers may have valid points, the key question remains: How did the name originate, and what does it mean?
A few months before the British conquest of Kano in 1903, a young man arrived in the city, displaying the confidence of a learned individual. He introduced himself simply as Abd Allah, without a surname, as was customary at the time. Historians later discovered that he came from Ghadames (also spelled Ghadamis), a town in North Africa.
Abd Allah was not alone in Kano—he had uncles who were part of the Ghadames Arab community. Due to his popularity, he became known as Abd Allah el-Ghadamisi (meaning Abd Allah of Ghadames), with his birthplace providing him with a surname.
Gifted with literacy in Arabic and a strong command of Hausa, Abd Allah soon gained recognition. His linguistic skills led to his employment by C. L. Temple, the Lieutenant Governor of Northern Nigeria, and later by H. R. Palmer, a senior colonial officer responsible for rural tax assessment. Under Palmer’s encouragement, Abd Allah wrote his memoirs, titled Your Humble Servant: The Memoirs of Abd Allah Al-Ghadamisi, which has been analyzed in a 1996 scholarly article by Muhammad Sani Umar and John Hunwick. Over time, Abd Allah’s name, Al-Ghadamisi, became more widely recognized than the book itself.
Former Nigerian President Ibrahim Babangida, in his autobiography, mentioned that his father’s name, Badamasi, was inspired by a religious book that his grandfather regularly consulted. He wrote:
“As I understand it, my grandfather named my father Badamasi after a particular religious book that he consulted regularly. My grandfather was so fond of the book that he decided to name his second child after it, and that was how the name Badamasi entered our lineage!”
Could this book have been The Memoirs of Abd Allah Al-Ghadamisi?
Sheikh Adam Abdullah el-Ilory (1917–1992), the renowned Islamic scholar and founder of Markaz in Agege, Lagos, was widely respected for his scholarly contributions. In his 1997 book, The Arabic Literary Tradition of Nigeria, John Hunwick described Sheikh Adam as “the greatest Arabic/Islamic scholar Nigeria produced in the twentieth century.”
Sheikh Adam studied extensively, including at Al-Azhar University in Cairo. He authored works on subjects ranging from astronomy and philosophy to Yoruba history, Islamic jurisprudence, and the Arabic language.
In a lecture posted on Facebook on March 22, 2024, Sheikh Adam traced the arrival of Islam in Hausaland to itinerant scholars and traders from ancient Mali. He specifically mentioned that the Ghadamisi—people from Ghadames—were among them. Ghadames, an oasis town in present-day Libya near the borders of Tunisia and Algeria, was historically a major center for trans-Saharan trade, including the Arab slave trade.
Sheikh Adam, speaking in Yoruba, explained:
“The Ghadamisi… they are a tribe, a whole city. Àwon olórúko president wa ní Nigeria nìyen (they are namesakes of our president). That is where he (Babangida) got his name, Badamasi. Some pronounce it as Bidimos. In Hausaland, they use Badamasi; in Yorubaland, we say Gbadamosi. A recent variation is Bidimosi (Badmus, Bidmus), though it is less common than Ghadamisi. The Ghadamisi came with the Wangara, and the Wangara were the ones who brought Islam to Hausaland.”
Sheikh Adam’s statement connects the Wangara with the Ghadamisi. Historically, the Malian city of Gao was a major hub for trade and cultural exchange. One of the three central trans-Saharan trade routes—the Ghadames Road—ran from Gao in present-day Niger to Ghadames and then to Tripoli. This trade route facilitated the interaction between the Wangara and the people of Ghadames, influencing the spread of Islam in West Africa.
The Kano Chronicles document that during the reign of King Yaji (1349–1385), the Wangarawa arrived from Mali, bringing Islam with them. These Wangarawa scholars and clerics played a key role in Islamizing Hausaland.
Kperogi suggested that the Hausa name Badamasi was “Yorubized” into Gbadamosi and later anglicized as Badmus. However, if he acknowledges Sheikh Adam’s assertion that Gbadamosi/Badamasi originates from Ghadames/Ghadamisi, he may reconsider his position. The Yoruba name Gbadamosi, with its distinctive Gb sound, appears to more closely resemble Ghadamisi than Badamasi does.
