Former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has shared how an encounter with colleagues in Mogadishu, Somalia, influenced his decision to quit alcohol.
In a video that surfaced online on Tuesday, Osinbajo disclosed that he previously consumed alcoholic drinks, including red wine and beer, despite being a pastor.
“I take red wine occasionally and sometimes beer,” he said.
He explained that his decision to stop drinking was triggered during his engagement with the United Nations Justice Sector in Somalia.
Recounting the incident, Osinbajo said that after preaching at a fellowship on a Sunday, he visited a restaurant within the UN compound to purchase two cans of Heineken before returning to his room.
He, however, noticed that some of his colleagues from different countries, who were already drinking at the restaurant, quickly concealed their drinks on seeing him.
According to him, the reaction prompted him to question one of them, a Danish colleague, about their behaviour.
“They told me they could not drink in the presence of a priest,” he said.
Osinbajo described the moment as a turning point, noting that it conveyed a deeper moral message to him.
He added that the experience made him reflect on the biblical teaching that not everything permissible is beneficial.
The former vice president stated that he has abstained from alcohol since the incident.
