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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.