Mustapha Adamu Animashaun (1885–1968) was a prominent Lagos Islamic leader in the first half of the twentieth century. He was also an author, fortune teller, publisher and political leader. He was involved in various progressive movements and controversial issues in the Islamic community in Lagos for most of the first half of the twentieth century, when the Muslims then constituted about half of the Lagos population. His major influence was also his master, a prominent Lagos Muslim, Idris Animashaun.
As a religious leader, he promoted the adoption of Western education among Muslims and sought the enactment of a constitution for the Lagos Central Mosque and the general Lagos Muslim community. However, the agitation for the latter led to some conflicts with fellow Muslims in Lagos.
Early life
Animashaun was born as a freeman in the ancient city of Kano. The name of his father was Usman, while his mother was the daughter of the Chief Imam of Kano, Mallam Ibrahim. At the early age of eight, he lost his status as a freeman when he was captured as a slave, during a turbulent time in Kano. He was then sold to the palace of the Emir of Zazzau and was trained by the emir's son. As a steward in the Emir's palace, he was afforded the opportunity to travel to a few Northern Nigerian cities, he also lived in Cairo for five years. However, his search for freedom soon hit the rocks; while returning from Egypt, he was captured again and re-sold as a slave to the Waziri of Sokoto. He later left the Islamic city of Sokoto for Ilorin with a Sokoto man, Mallam Madugu. In Ilorin, he was sold to Alfa (cleric) Bello of Agbaji quarters, an Islamic center of renowned scholarship. While in Ilorin, he was raised and taught in the Islamic way; he also chose the name Adamu, a popular name at the time and was also quite popular among his peers. He was finally sold to his last master, Idris Animashaun, the head of a government Muslim school in Lagos. He enrolled in the Muslim school in 1896, where he was able to apply the Arabic and astrology knowledge he had learned in Egypt and Ilorin. His experience in the school was quite a success, he only spent two years in the school as he was already an astute and literate man well versed in Islamic knowledge which was the major vocal point of the Lagos Islamic School.
Career
Shop manager
After completing his studies, he apprenticed under his tutor and master, Idris Animashaun as an assistant Shop keeper. He later became the manager of the shop in 1912. During the same year, he was given a certificate of freedom and he became a freeman. He then followed his mentor's foot step and opened a shop in 1913, the shop specialised in selling Arabic books on Shitta street, Lagos. By the time, he had begun to assimilate into the elite Muslim community of Lagos, due in part to the influence of Idris Animashaun. He married, the daughter of the Chief Imam of Lagos, the cleric Ibrahim.
Publisher and author
To complement the services offered in his store, he opened a small printing business in 1914. The business was involved in printing Islamic related posters and notices. He also used the business to print his version of a Nigerian almanac. He used his astrology knowledge to predict events for individual clients who came to his office, while he gained popularity as a fortune teller due in large part to his knowledge of the Arabic language and astrology which was quite high in relation to many residents of Lagos. However, his style of prediction mostly used and extrapolated from world and local events and societal issues.