Born into a family of religious scholars (his grandfather was the Chief Imam of Kafin-Hausa) in Kafin-Hausa town of Kafin-Hausa Local Government Area of Jigawa State, Mallam Namadi started his education at Kafin Hausa Central Primary School (along with the traditional Qur’anic and Islamiyya education) from where he proceeded to Mallam Madori Teachers College where he obtained his Teachers Grade II Certificate in 1982.
In 1984, he sat for an A Level Certificate examination and passed with good grades, aiding him secured admission for undergraduate studies at the Bayero University, Kano where he graduated with a BSc in Accounting in 1987, and later, bagged an MBA from the same institution. After graduation, Mallam Umar Namadi served a mandatory scheme, National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) in Makurdi, Benue State, where he worked as an Audit Assistant at Egwu Oga & Co. auditing firm. Between 1988 and 1994, he held various positions working with an auditing firm Abdu Abdurrahim & Co. Chartered Accountants, based in Kano, which includes Audit Management and Consultancy Services.