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.
