The Abobaku is a title that means “The one who dies with the king”.
The Abobaku is a person that is appointed upon a king’s coronation, to be buried with the king when he eventually dies. His job is to serve the king and attend to him in the afterlife.
When the Ooni was crowned in 1980, the kingmakers selected someone known as abobaku. His primary role is to live the rest of his life with the king, enjoying everything the king enjoys, live unrestricted life, he can even upturn any decision made by the king if he choose to do so. He is the defacto ooni whenever the king is indisposed. He was made to realize that he can lay his hand on anything he likes in the kingdom as long as the king lives. He was also told that all these enjoyment ends when the king dies because he must die with the king.
Now, this Abobaku has enjoyed all these for 35 years
The Oba’s death in London had allowed word of his demise to filter around, and this reportedly gave the Abobaku ample time to flee. – 360nobs
Apparently this ‘Abobaku” ain’t ready to go down just yet.
It is surprising that such barbaric customs seem to still exist in Nigeria.
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