‘Why I stopped drinking alcohol’ – Yemi Osinbajo recounts defining moment

Nigeria’s former Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo, has shared a personal account of why he gave up alcohol.

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Mr Osinbajo spoke at a recent edition of the Biazo Leadership and Empowerment Summit held in Maryland, United States, where he addressed leadership, personal discipline, and the ethical demands of public life.

The 69-year-old professor of law and ordained pastor in the Redeemed Christian Church of God said he once believed there was no contradiction between his faith and moderate alcohol consumption.

Jesus turned water to wine

Mr Osinbajo said that he referenced the biblical account of Jesus Christ turning water into wine as part of his earlier justification.

“I was very convinced that I could drink alcohol. Jesus turned water into wine, so why not? Many scholars would say the wine was not alcoholic, but as far as I was concerned, Jesus turned water into wine,” he said.

The former vice-president disclosed that he occasionally drank ‘red wine and beer’ and had intended to continue doing so even after becoming ‘born again’.

“So I liked my red wine and beer every once in a while. I had already made up my mind that I would continue taking wine even though I was born again,” he added.

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Turning point

However, Mr Osinbajo said a turning point came during a visit to Mogadishu, Somalia, where he travelled for official duties and also led a Christian fellowship.

According to him, after preaching on a Sunday, he intended to buy alcohol and retire to his room. On his way back, he stopped at a restaurant within the United Nations compound, where he encountered colleagues from different countries.

“On this particular Sunday, I was coming back from a fellowship where I had preached, because somehow they made me the pastor of the fellowship. On my way back, I was hoping to buy myself two bottles of Heineken and go to my room to read my Bible,” he said.

“So, I was coming back from the fellowship, and there were many restaurants in the UN compound in Mogadishu. I went into a particular restaurant and saw many of my colleagues from different countries sitting down, drinking beer.the

“As soon as I came in, they all started hiding their drinks.”

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Mr Osinbajo said he was puzzled by the reaction and approached one of his colleagues for an explanation.

“So I went over to one of the guys in my office, a Danish man, and I said to him, ‘Why are you hiding your whiskey?’ Then he responded, ‘You know you are the priest.”

The resolution

Mr Osinbajo said the encounter triggered an immediate moment of introspection about the expectations placed on him as a Christian leader and public official.

“It occurred to me immediately that there was nowhere I could be drinking there. It became very clear to me that, without a doubt, God was saying to me that while all things may be lawful, not all things are expedient,” he said. “From that day, I have not touched alcohol.”