40. Marching in the Ranks of Honour

Neville Chamberlain is remembered as one of Britain’s most reviled leaders for appeasing Adolf Hitler, even as Churchill warned that no amount of begging would hold back the tide. When Czechoslovakia was invaded, the path to war was sealed, and Britain needed a stronger hand.

Yet when Chamberlain passed away, Churchill — his nemesis and successor — gave a tribute that struck me deeply. He could have gloated or remained silent, but instead, in a long speech, he offered these timeless words:

“The only guide to a man is his conscience; the only shield to his memory is the rectitude and sincerity of his actions. It is very imprudent to walk through life without this shield, because we are so often mocked by the failure of our hopes and the upsetting of our calculations; but with this shield, however the fates may play, we march always in the ranks of honour.”

Those words have stayed with me. Keeping a clean conscience is essential. I remember refusing a huge ₦10m payment in BudgIT’s early days, or declining rewards from the government, because I knew our voice had to remain clear. I mean, I set a high standard for receiving government funding as part of BudgIT's internal value systems. That is why, even as friends entered government in high positions, I have always kept a distance. At best, I offer suggestions to help for free or just nudge them if they are failing at public opinion. I always try to ensure that my conscience remains free to speak truth.

But a clear conscience alone is not enough. The question is: what values anchor that conscience? Many justify egregious actions because their conscience is numbed, shaped by corrupted values. True peace comes not only from avoiding guilt but from living by sound principles.

We will stumble, we will falter, but if our values are sound, our conscience will always lead us back to peace. That peace is like finding your better half — as I found mine in Oluwaseun Agbelusi — the deep rest of knowing you are exactly where you should be. Let your mind be at ease. Let your conscience be at rest, even when you fall short, with the conviction that you have exercised sound judgment and given your best.

Don’t read this series and imagine that I am infallible. I stumble, I wrestle with doubts, and I fall short like anyone else. Sometimes, I fail to return calls or fulfil my promise that I might have made in haste. What matters to me is not perfection (never been a perfectionist)but fidelity — to my values, to my conscience, to the quiet compass that helps me rise again each time I falter. This is well echoed in that favourite sound of mine, “Human Being by M.I, Sound Sultan, and Tuface. The world will always offer shortcuts, but time-tested values remain the only path that truly endures. This is the foundation on which great nations stand, dressed in the fabric of the rule of law.

This is what Churchill reminds us: history may reconstruct events as it pleases, or even lead us to think we acted right in such circumstances, but what endures is whether we acted in alignment with a good conscience. We might be viewed in a different light in the future. You remember those Aunts and Uncles that you thought were stingy when you were young? Well, we are adults now, and we can see that not every request for help can be honoured. We will likely be kinder to them in hindsight.

And so, as I close this ten-part journey from 31 to 40 — a continuation of the reflections I began at 30 — I pray for grace: to live with a clear conscience, anchored by values, marching always in the ranks of honour. I pray for the grace of God to hear from me in a decade — in joy, abundance, purpose and good health.