Prof Malami Umar Tambawal was born in Tambawal, Tambawal Local Government Area of Sokoto State, Nigeria. He attended Tambawal Primary School; Government Secondary School Yabo, Sokoto; State College of Arts and Science, Sokoto; before proceeding to the College of Education, Sokoto where he had the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE). Thereafter, he proceeded to the University of Sokoto, University of Jos and Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto where he earned B.Ed, M.Ed, and Ph.D respectively.

Malami Tambawal started his career in the education sector in 1983 when he was appointed a classroom teacher. In 1988, he was appointed Inspector of Education by the Sokoto State Ministry of Education, and in 1991, he was appointed Vice Principal of GSS Tangaza, Sokoto State. He rose to the position of Principal in 1992 when he was appointed to serve in GSS Tureta, Sokoto State. He served different schools as principal up to 2000 when he was appointed Registrar, Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto. Malami Tambawal served as the Registrar of the College till 2007 when he joined the services of Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto, as an academic staff. He rose through the ranks and was promoted to Professor of Guidance and Counselling by Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto.

Within the university, Prof Tambawal had served as the Deputy Dean, Faculty of Education and Extension Service, Head of Department of Educational Foundations, Dean of Faculty of Education & Extension Service, among others. He also served in many positions outside the university including Board Chairman, Community Day Secondary School, Tambuwal; Member, School Based Management Committee, Federal Government Girls College, Tambuwal; Chairman, Academic Board of Madarasatul Mal-Jais Sunnah Arkilla Federal Lowcost Sokoto; Sokoto State Vice Chairman, Police Community Relations Committee, among others.

Prof Tambawal is also active in professional associations he belongs to. He is a Fellow of the Counselling Association of Nigeria, Member of the Nigerian Society for Educational Psychologist, among others. He is an external examiner and assessor to different universities including Bayero University, Kano; Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; University of Abuja; Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai; Federal University Kashere; Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi; University of Maiduguri and National Open University. He has to his credit over 50 academic papers published in reputable journals both within and outside the Nigeria. Prof Tambawal has supervised over 117 Masters Dissertations and 30 Ph.D Thesis. He is married with children.