“Many Things May Be Lawful, Not Everything Is Beneficial or Uplifting” — Former VP Osinbajo on Why He Stopped Drinking Alcohol
Former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has revealed why he gave up alcohol many years ago.
Speaking in a recent video, Osinbajo said the decision came after an encounter with a former United Nations colleague while he was in Mogadishu, Somalia.
According to him, although he was already a born again Christian and serving as a pastor at the time, he still occasionally drank alcohol.
Osinbajo explained that his perspective changed after visiting a restaurant within the UN compound, where several colleagues were drinking. When he entered, they quickly hid their drinks.
Curious, he asked one of them, a Danish colleague, why they were doing so.
The colleague replied: “You are the priest. We must not be drinking where the priest is.”
Osinbajo said the remark struck him deeply and caused him to reflect on his actions.
He recalled thinking: “How does the priest drink?”
That moment, he said, became a turning point in his life.
He added that he felt God was reminding him that while many things may be lawful, not everything is beneficial or uplifting.
“From that moment on, it became clear to me,” he said. “Since that day, I have not touched alcohol.”
Osinbajo noted that the incident happened a long time ago, and he has remained committed to that decision ever since.