Welcome to Igbo Daily Drops — your daily cultural devotional for learning Igbo, one drop at a time.

If you've ever stood at the door of your own heritage, knowing you belong inside but not knowing how to enter — this podcast is for you.

Our Foundation episodes begin today. Main episodes start next week, Monday to Friday — under 10 minutes each, with three practical Igbo sentences you can use the same day. Saturdays: all the week's sentences in one place. Sundays: the full week's omnibus.

We're on a mission to raise 10,000 more next-generation Igbo speakers by next year. Join us.

Every sentence you learn is a drop. And every drop feeds Oké Osimiri Mmụta Igbo — the Ocean of Igbo Knowledge.

Subscribe now.

Free resources: LearnIgboNow.com

This has been Igbo Daily Drops with Yvonne Mbanefo.

FREE RESOURCES: - Igbo Heritage Family Kit: https://learnigbonow.com -
Main Channel: @learnigbo on YouTube
Kids' Channel: @learnigboforkids on YouTube


Our Mission: Raise 10,000 more next-generation Igbo speakers by next year.
Be one of them. Every sentence you learn is a drop.
And every drop feeds Oké Osimiri Mmụta Igbo — the Ocean of Igbo Knowledge. Subscribe now. Foundation episodes begin today.

"Nnọọ." It is a word that means "Welcome," but in the Igbo world, it carries the weight of acknowledging a long journey.

In this opening episode of Foundation Week, Yvonne Mbanefo invites you to stop being a lone observer and start becoming a steward of your heritage. Using the profound proverb of the "wearer and the washer," we explore why your Igbo heritage—much like a precious hand-woven Akwaete cloth—only retains its brilliance if you choose to wear it with pride.

In this episode, you will discover:

• The Philosophy of Welcome: Why Nnọọ is the first step in the "Stewardship of Relationship".
• The Wearer and the Washer: A deep dive into the Igbo proverb of value and preservation.
• The Scholar’s Spark: Insights from Victor Uchendu’s 1965 study on the 'reciprocity' at the heart of Igbo social life.
• The Nkume Method: Learn and practice your first three "drops" of the language.

Daily Proverb: Ị yiri akwa gị ka ọ na ọ bụghị gị ga-asụ ya, onye ga-asụ ya asụọ ya ka ọ na ọ bụghị ya ga-eyị ya.

If you wear your clothes as though you won't be the one to wash them, the person who washes them will do so as though they aren't the one to wear them.

Claim your FREE Igbo Heritage Family Kit: LearnIgboNow.com (Includes the Igbo Family Pledge, Fridge Sheet, and Foundation Week Workbook)

This has been Igbo Daily Drops with Yvonne Mbanefo.

FREE RESOURCES: - Igbo Heritage Family Kit: https://learnigbonow.com -
Main Channel: @learnigbo on YouTube
Kids' Channel: @learnigboforkids on YouTube


Our Mission: Raise 10,000 more next-generation Igbo speakers by next year.
Be one of them. Every sentence you learn is a drop.
And every drop feeds Oké Osimiri Mmụta Igbo — the Ocean of Igbo Knowledge. Subscribe now. Foundation episodes begin today.

Show Notes

Your name is not just a label; it is a premeditated venture. In this episode, Yvonne Mbanefo explains why your Igbo name acts as a Cultural GPS, pointing to the dialect, geography, and highest hopes of your ancestors.

• The Proverb: Onye kwe, Chi ya ekwe (If a person says yes, their Chi says yes also).
• The Story: Why Yvonne was named after a Wimbledon champion, and the "Good Destiny" behind the name Chioma.
• Scholar’s Spark: Statistical proof from Hilary Okagbue (2017) on the "sentential" nature of Igbo names and the dominant "Chi Factor."
• Practice: Claim your identity with A bụ m onye Igbo.

This has been Igbo Daily Drops with Yvonne Mbanefo.

FREE RESOURCES: - Igbo Heritage Family Kit: https://learnigbonow.com -
Main Channel: @learnigbo on YouTube
Kids' Channel: @learnigboforkids on YouTube


Our Mission: Raise 10,000 more next-generation Igbo speakers by next year.
Be one of them. Every sentence you learn is a drop.
And every drop feeds Oké Osimiri Mmụta Igbo — the Ocean of Igbo Knowledge. Subscribe now. Foundation episodes begin today.

In the Igbo world, the ground beneath your feet is not just dirt. It is Ala — the red earth, the soil of our ancestors, and the most powerful deity in Igbo cosmology.

Today we explore the sacred ritual of Ili Alọ (umbilical cord burial) and why every Igbo person is literally planted into the soil before they can even walk. From Obinna's first visit to his grandfather's compound in Umuahia to the "grounding mats" we buy in the diaspora, we discover what it means to be Nwadiala - "sons and daughters of the soil."

Today's Proverb:
"A naghị ebu ala ebu" — You do not carry land on the head. The land carries you; you do not carry it.

Today's 3 to Use:

1. Ala Igbo — Igbo land / Our homeland
2. Ana m ala ụlọ — I am going home
3. Ọ dị n'ala — It is on the ground

Scholar's Spark:
Christian Onyenaucheya Uchegbue (2010) on infancy rites and the burial of the umbilical cord as an act of dedication to Ala, the ancestors, and the community. Victor Uchendu on the "naval complex" as the foundation of social status.

Today's Blessing:
Ka ezigbote ikuku kuo na ndụ gị taa — May pure air blow in your life today
Ya gaziere gị — May it go well for you

Free Resources:

• Download your FREE Igbo Heritage Family Kit at LearnIgboNow.com
• Foundation Week Workbook with "Ancestral Map" activity

Our Mission: Raise 10,000 next-generation Igbo speakers by next year. Be one of them.

This has been Igbo Daily Drops with Yvonne Mbanefo.

FREE RESOURCES: - Igbo Heritage Family Kit: https://learnigbonow.com -
Main Channel: @learnigbo on YouTube
Kids' Channel: @learnigboforkids on YouTube


Our Mission: Raise 10,000 more next-generation Igbo speakers by next year.
Be one of them. Every sentence you learn is a drop.
And every drop feeds Oké Osimiri Mmụta Igbo — the Ocean of Igbo Knowledge. Subscribe now. Foundation episodes begin today.

Across Africa, we say that when an elder dies, a whole library burns. But what if the seeds of that library are still alive?

In this deeply personal Foundation Week episode of Igbo Daily Drops, I honour my father, Chief Richard Neife Tagbo (Ọchịnanwata of Ụmụagba, Imezi Ọwa, Enugu State), whose life embodied the proverb:

Onye ajụjụ anaghị efu ụzọ.
One who asks questions does not lose their way.

At nine years old, orphaned within three months, he stood before a room of adults and did something radical — he named his need. He asked to study.

Years later, during the Biafra war, exhausted in a hospital corridor, he did it again:
“Agụụ na-agụ m.”
I am hungry.

Because he spoke, someone could answer.
That someone became my mother.

In this episode, we explore:

• The power of naming your hunger
• Igbo philosophy and the Umunna (community responsibility)
• The meaning of Mmadụ bụ chi onye
• And 3 practical Igbo phrases you can use today:

– Agụụ na-agụ m (I am hungry)
– Mmiri na-agụ m (I am thirsty)
– Ike gwụrụ m (I am tired)

Every sentence you learn is a drop.
And every drop feeds the Ocean of Igbo Knowledge.

Download the Foundation Week Workbook at LearnIgboNow.com

Join the Igbo Village — our 12-month fluency journey for adults and families — opening soon.

Ka chi gị duo gị ọfụma taa.

This has been Igbo Daily Drops with Yvonne Mbanefo.

FREE RESOURCES: - Igbo Heritage Family Kit: https://learnigbonow.com -
Main Channel: @learnigbo on YouTube
Kids' Channel: @learnigboforkids on YouTube


Our Mission: Raise 10,000 more next-generation Igbo speakers by next year.
Be one of them. Every sentence you learn is a drop.
And every drop feeds Oké Osimiri Mmụta Igbo — the Ocean of Igbo Knowledge. Subscribe now. Foundation episodes begin today.

"Ka anyị bido." Let us begin. In the Igbo world, the most significant things are never started alone.

In this final episode of Foundation Week: The Emergence, Yvonne Mbanefo completes the preparation of the soil. We move from being observers to active participants in a cultural revolution. Drawing on the profound wisdom of John S. Mbiti and J.O.J. Nwachukwu-Agbada, we explore why your fluency is tied to the community around you.

• The Power of "We": Why the Igbo language refuses to let you start alone.
• The Legend of the Crowd: Unpacking the proverb Gidi gidi bụ ugwu eze.
• Scholar’s Spark: John S. Mbiti on African communal personhood—"I am because we are".
• The 3 guiding Igbo Sentences: Practice the three sentences for the journey:

Ka anyị bido - Let's Start

Jisie ike - Keep going / Well done / Be strong

Gidi gidi bụ ugwu eze - Unity is the dignity of a King

Are you ready to join the 10,000? Download your FREE Igbo Heritage Family Kit and claim your place in the Village: LearnIgboNow.com

This has been Igbo Daily Drops with Yvonne Mbanefo.

FREE RESOURCES: - Igbo Heritage Family Kit: https://learnigbonow.com -
Main Channel: @learnigbo on YouTube
Kids' Channel: @learnigboforkids on YouTube


Our Mission: Raise 10,000 more next-generation Igbo speakers by next year.
Be one of them. Every sentence you learn is a drop.
And every drop feeds Oké Osimiri Mmụta Igbo — the Ocean of Igbo Knowledge. Subscribe now. Foundation episodes begin today.

There are two ways to say "good morning" in Igbo. One is functional. The other is an ancient inquiry into the state of your soul. In this series premiere, we meet Chioma — nineteen, born in London — standing in her grandmother's compound in Owerri, hearing the question Ị bọọla chi? for the first time. Drawing on Chinua Achebe's exploration of Chi, we learn why every Igbo morning greeting is a sacred ritual of presence.

Key Concepts: Chi (personal guardian spirit / dawn light), Ị bọọla chi (morning greeting as spiritual inquiry), the duality of the Igbo worldview

Scholar: Chinua Achebe — Morning Yet on Creation Day (1975)

Proverb: Mgbe onye tetara bụ ụtụtụ ya — When one wakes up is their morning.

3 Sentences:

1. Ị bọọla chi? — Have you emerged with the dawn?
2. Eee, a bọọla m chi — Yes, I have emerged with the dawn
3. Aha m bụ… — My name is…

Blessing: Ka chi gị duo gị ọfụma taa — May your chi lead you well today.

Resources: Free practice workbook at www.learnigbonow.com

This has been Igbo Daily Drops with Yvonne Mbanefo.

FREE RESOURCES: - Igbo Heritage Family Kit: https://learnigbonow.com -
Main Channel: @learnigbo on YouTube
Kids' Channel: @learnigboforkids on YouTube


Our Mission: Raise 10,000 more next-generation Igbo speakers by next year.
Be one of them. Every sentence you learn is a drop.
And every drop feeds Oké Osimiri Mmụta Igbo — the Ocean of Igbo Knowledge. Subscribe now. Foundation episodes begin today.

The most important question in Igbo culture is not "Where do you live?" It is "Onye ebee ka ị bụ?" — Where are you from? In this episode, we follow Adaọma — 26, born in Antwerp, standing in her father's compound in Awka for the first time — as she answers the question that connects you to your ancestors. Drawing on historian Elizabeth Isichei's landmark 1976 study of Igbo civilisation, we explore why your hometown anchors your identity. Three sentences. One question. One answer. One full story.

Key Concepts: Igbo identity, obodo (hometown), origin as personhood, diaspora belonging, ancestral village, kinship through place

Scholar: Elizabeth Isichei — A History of the Igbo People (1976)

Proverb: Onye amaghị ebe o si, amaghị ebe ọ na-aga. — The one who does not know where they come from does not know where they are going.

Today's 3 Sentences:
Onye ebee ka ị bụ? — Where are you from?
A bụ m onye Awka. — I am from Awka.
E bi m na London. — I live in London.

Blessing: Ka ala nna gị nọrọ na-eche gị. — May the land of your fathers wait for you.

Resources:
Free practice workbook: www.learnigbonow.com
Elizabeth Isichei — A History of the Igbo People (1976)

This has been Igbo Daily Drops with Yvonne Mbanefo.

FREE RESOURCES: - Igbo Heritage Family Kit: https://learnigbonow.com -
Main Channel: @learnigbo on YouTube
Kids' Channel: @learnigboforkids on YouTube


Our Mission: Raise 10,000 more next-generation Igbo speakers by next year.
Be one of them. Every sentence you learn is a drop.
And every drop feeds Oké Osimiri Mmụta Igbo — the Ocean of Igbo Knowledge. Subscribe now. Foundation episodes begin today.