Yemi Osinbajo, who used to be Vice President, has talked about the time that made him stop drinking.
In a viral video, the pastor talked about how a chance meeting while he was working in Somalia changed his life. He said that even as a pastor, he used to drink beer and red wine from time to time.
The former vice president said that the big change happened when he was in Mogadishu on a United Nations mission. He preached on a Sunday and then decided to buy some beer and go back to his room.
He said that he went into a restaurant in the UN camp and saw some coworkers from other countries who were already drinking. When they saw him, they quickly tried to hide their drinks.
He then went up to a coworker from Denmark and asked him why he was hiding his drink. The coworker said they couldn’t drink in front of him because they thought he was a priest.
Osinbajo was deeply moved by the response and began to think about his role and how others saw him. He said that the moment helped him realize that just because something is okay doesn’t mean it’s always the right thing to do.
He made the decision to stop drinking alcohol after that meeting.
He said, “I like my beer and my red wine once in a while.” I was coming back from the Fellowship where I had preached that Sunday, and all I wanted to do was buy two cans of Heineken and go to my room to read the Bible.
“There were a lot of places to eat in Mogadishu’s UN compound. I went to this restaurant, and when I walked in, I saw a lot of my coworkers from other countries. They were having drinks. You are the priest, and we can’t drink in front of the priest. I can do anything I want, but not everything is a good idea.
