Standing for Truth with Courage: An Autobiography of Njidda Mamadu Gadzama

Standing for Truth with Courage is the autobiography of an accomplished son of Margi land, an international scientist, a scholar, a teacher and able university administrator, Professor Emeritus Njidda Gadzama, OFR, FAS, HLR. From his ancestry and beginning in Margi through his educational pursuits both in Nigeria and the United States of America as made possible through the missionary activities of the Church of the Brethren, to his return to his fatherland - Nigeria - to pick up a career in academics, and his rise through the ranks to become an outstanding university administrator, first as acting and a substantive Vice Chancellor and then the founding Pro-Chancellor of the National Open University of Nigeria, the book presents the author's highs and lows, moments of joy and sorrow to the reader, not just to read to know, but to learn from. The author's resolute to stand for truth with courage, despite all the persecutions he faced in his life adventures is a major theme that reverberated across the book. Beyond being an autobiography, the book is a wonderful resource material on the culture and language of the Margi people. The author has taken a deliberate step of documenting the linguistic code and way of life of his people as his own contribution to the preservation of the Margi culture beside his high traditional title as Shettima Ilmuye of Borno out of respect to his immense academic and administrative achievements.