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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Busa-Bisa of Nigeria

The Busa-Bisa of Nigeria, numbering approximately 19,500 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are the earliest rulers of the Borgu region, predating the Kisira migration whose leaders later made a pact and intermarried with the Boko-Busa at shared centers in Bussa, Nikki, and Illo, with neighboring Fulbe historically herding cattle on their behalf. They mostly adhere to Folk Islam and Busa is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2025). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Busa-Bisa

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Sub-Saharan African Peoples
Country: Nigeria
People Cluster: Mande
Primary Language(s): Busa (bqp)
Primary Religion(s): Folk Islam
Population: 19,500
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG013706
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Pray for the Busa-Bisa of Nigeria

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Folk Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

54%
%
Folk Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Busa
Language Family: Mande

91%
%
Bisã Speakers

Media Resources in Busa:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Busa:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
SIM Nigeria, 2005✓✓✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Busa bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Busa-Bisa are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Busa-Bisa:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Pray specifically for the Busa-Bisa of Nigeria

And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
readMatthew 6:7-8

Pray that those who don't have a relationship with their Creator will come to know a God who hears their every need, freeing them from empty rituals and drawing them into a real, trusting relationship with Him.

For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
read2 Timothy 4:3-4

Pray that the lost will be open to the truth of the gospel and turn from false teachings and myths to the sound doctrine of Christ in faith.

And he brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be.”
readGenesis 15:5

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust God to keep His promises.

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
readJohn 12:24

Pray that God will raise up men and women who are willing to die to their own desires, bearing much fruit for the kingdom among individuals and in places where His gospel has not been proclaimed.

Busa-Bisa Across Countries (ROP3 - 101794) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Busa-BisaPG013706Busa-BisaNigeria19,500Engaged yet UnreachedBusaFolk Islam

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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