The Day Buhari visited his shrink in London

For obvious reasons, the shrink scheduled Buhari’s appointment as the last one for the day. Buhari and his shrink had agreed that there should be no rush since this was his first visit in more than seven years. More so, Buhari made it clear in his phone call that he had very urgent matters to discuss. The 81-year-old shrink had been in practice for over 45 years and had treated Buhari since 1976 when Buhari was Nigeria’s petroleum minister.

In dark glasses and a long grey light jacket, Buhari sneaked in from a back entrance door reserved for staff and special guests. The old Victorian building on the West End of London had no mark outside to indicate the services rendered there. At the reception, the shrink personally welcomed Buhari. He took Buhari’s jacket, hung it in the closet, and led him into his private office, walking with an unsteady gait. He had developed a mini-hunched back since the last time Buhari saw him. Still, he kept showing up at work even though his son was ready to inherit the practice and carry on with the family tradition that his grandfather started.

The two exchanged very few pleasantries as Buhari quickly settled at the patient’s sofa, placed his legs on a footstool. The shrink sitting on his high leather chair towered above him.