[8][9] The name "Tinguereguedech" is derived from the Tamasheq language phrase meaning "I am under the protection of..."[8] Smaller local nomadic populations also include the Loghmatten and Doufrafrak former bonded sub groups of the Kel Ansongo Tuareg,[1] [10] and the Fula Gaobé.

The concentration of Tuareg population here sets the commune apart for the rest of the department, with the area north of Niamey and east of the river a largely Songhay "cultural zone".

[15] Because Bankilaré is a dry season transhumance center for Tuareg groups which range as far north as Algeria, in 1999 the town was chosen to pilot what became a very successful radio project in which locals would broadcast pasturage conditions to desert populations across the region.

[11][16][17][18][19] Bankilaré commune was particularly hard hit by the 1983-5 drought and famine which struck the region [20] and faced notable food insecurity again in the late 1990s and 2005.

After this local authority was centralized back to the departmental level, the Administrative Post and "fraction" model was re-implemented in part during the decentralization process of the late 1990s that created the Bankilaré commune.

[8] This has meant that at times, Bankilaré is an ethnic enclave within Songhay majority local authorities, for long periods governed under a now defunct "Gorouol Canton".