Dadasare Abdullahi

Hajiya Maimunatu Dadasare Abdullahi (1918 – August 1984) was a Nigerian writer, nurse, journalist and adult educator. She was the first female journalist in Northern Nigeria and a pioneering figure in women's education in the region. Most of the townspeople of Gola were her relatives; both her father Dewa Abdullahi and her mother Inna Demmo were related to the district head. She came from a fairly privileged Fulani family that was largely involved in cattle-rearing.

Abdullahi was the fifth of seven children, with three brothers and three sisters. By her late childhood, most of her siblings had died. The loss of so many children seriously affected her father's health, and he eventually died, "almost certainly of a broken heart," according to Abdullahi. In her autobiography, It Can Now Be Told, Abdullahi later noted that this series of deaths in her family could have been avoided had they had access to adequate medical services. She wrote that the tragedy "created in me subconsciously an awareness of the need of the people, especially of women, for help and education," and that it "founded in me a desire to do something about it." Considering him "very attractive", Abdullahi became particularly close to East. She taught him her mother tongue, while he in turn "aroused" in her a "strong interest in Western music. In her memoir, Dadasare explained her apparently paradoxical decision to rejoin the colonial network and move in with East:This time I did not have to be kidnapped. I had decided of my own free will to go to a man I felt I could love and who, I was sure, had real feeling for me. I do not propose, now or later, to expatiate on the personal relationship that grew up between Jaumu-sare and myself. Those who have deeply loved will not need to be told, and those who have not, could never understand. The paper soon became highly popular in Northern Nigeria, particularly among Western-educated men. In 1951, there were only 108 girls enrolled in middle schools, and by 1954 the region had just 219 girls in secondary school classes. Many of these students were married immediately upon completing their education. Another major hindrance to women's education was the widespread practice of purdah or female seclusion, particularly among the region's Muslim population.

Dadasare was also closely involved in producing customised posters and pamphlets for use as teaching aids. She collaborated with Mallam Sarki Birnin Kebbi, an artist from the Visual Aids Section of the Adult Education Division in Zaria. The materials they produced were designed to be easily understood and depicted the everyday environments and practices of their intended audience. Their work attracted some attention, and they were later approached by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, which requested samples for use in studies aimed at improving adult education in other developing countries. Some of these methods were subsequently adapted for use in South America. Consequently, in 1970, the Zaria training centre for women's education was shut down by the North-Western State government and the building was converted into a dormitory for a Teacher Training College for men.

With sponsorship from Nigerian journalist Ibrahim Sheme, Ahmad arranged for the book's publication in 2019 by Informat Publishers. Sheme pushed for the original title to be restored, arguing that it was her first choice and that "Dadasare must have given the book that first title because it was completed the year Dr. East died, thereby suggesting that the lady must have found the epoch the right time to now tell the story of her life."