Lucky Obukohwo, Reporting
Former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has opened up on his past and significant incident that transformed his life for the better while in Somalia.
He said that single incident made him stopped drinking alcohol even while serving as pastor.
In a video making the rounds on social media, Osinbajo narrated how an encounter with colleagues while serving on a United Nations mission in Somalia prompted his decision.
Although a pastor, he said he occasionally enjoyed red wine and beer at the time.
“I like my red wine once in a while, and then I like my beer,” he said.
Osinbajo said that the turning point came while he was working in the justice sector of the United Nations (UN) mission in Mogadishu.
He said after preaching at a fellowship service one Sunday, he headed to a restaurant intending to buy two cans of beer before returning to his room.
“On this particular Sunday, I was coming back from the Fellowship where I had preached, and I was just hoping to buy two canned Heineken and go to my room and read my Bible,” he said.
When he entered the restaurant, he found several colleagues drinking. He noticed they quickly tried to hide their drinks upon seeing him.
Curious, he asked one of them, a Danish colleague, why they were doing so.
“You are the priest, and we cannot be drinking around the priest,” the man replied.
Osinbajo said the remark struck him deeply and became a moment of reflection on his faith and personal choices.
He said it helped him better understand the biblical principle that while many things may be permissible, not all are beneficial.
“Since that day, I have never consumed alcohol,” he said.
Truth Live News Media reports that Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, born 8 March 1957, is a Nigerian pastor, lawyer, professor, and politician who served as the 14th vice president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023.
He is a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and he previously served as Attorney General of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007 and holds the title of Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
