Ohabuike

Today's question in Nsukka

Who makes the best okpa, and what's their secret?

Asked by the town's Keeper of Food · closes at midnight

Ohabuike is a town square for Igbo people at home and abroad. Every day your town gets one question about itself. You answer by voice, the town nods the best answers up, and at midnight the best one is kept in your town's record.

The Ohabuike square for Nsukka: today's question, a gold button to answer by voice, and Mama Obiageli's voice note with 61 nods and its transcript.

Oha bụ ike.

There's strength in unity. It's where the name comes from.

A day in the square

Your town's knowledge, kept in its own voices.

Food, proverbs, places, stories and words sit with elders who won't type them. So nobody has to type. One question a day, answered out loud.

  1. The question opens

    Neighbouring towns share it, so Nsukka, Opi and Awka answer the same thing on the same day.

  2. You answer by voice

    In Igbo, Pidgin or English. You can record for an elder too, with their name and their consent.

  3. The town nods

    The best answers rise. An elder's nod counts three times, because they know.

  4. One answer is kept

    It goes into the town's record for good. Elders can contest a keep they disagree with.

The record keeps FoodProverbsStoriesPlacesWords

Across towns

Nsukka says.
What does your town say?

See how the neighbours answered the same question, then share your town's best answer as a status card for WhatsApp.

A status card reading 'Nsukka says: Mama Nkechi, by the Ogige gate. She steams it slowly, and the palm oil comes from her own trees.' with 'Does your town agree? Answer on Ohabuike'.

Vouched in, not signed up

Your town knows who's really from it.

A phone number proves a phone, not a town. On Ohabuike, people from your town vouch you in, and their names stay on your profile for good.

Blame sticks to whoever let a fraud in

Vouches are public. If someone turns out to be false, the people who vouched for them answer for it, and everyone they vouched in is asked to be confirmed again.

Challenges happen in the open

Anyone can ask whether a member is really from the town. The challenger is named, the town's elders decide, and a challenge can only ask about the town, never about anyone's ancestry.

Founding elders keep the floor clean

Each town starts with elders who are known in person. Their standing can't be undone by a chain of bad vouches, so a town can always re-vouch its own.

Vouchers needed to join
Town sizeVouchersRule
Founding period1A founding elder
Up to 491Any verified member
50 to 4992The two didn't vouch for each other
500 and over3They didn't vouch for each other or share a voucher

Independence beats numbers: it stops a small ring from vouching itself in.

Wherever you live

Your people abroad, and the way home.

Abroad, you join your city's Igbo community first. Someone there who knows your people can vouch you into your town later.

The Igbo Community of Scotland group page: Region Scotland, covering Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee, marked Private, with a Christmas gathering in Glasgow on 20 December.

Private communities

One group can cover a whole region, like all of Scotland. Only members see who's in it and what's on, and they vouch new people in. A group can also stay unlisted, reached only by its invite link.

Going home for December? Say when.

Tell your town when you'll be there, and see who else is coming. Nothing finer than the town is ever shared.

Nsukka notices in the News screen: the town meeting moves to Saturday 10 October, after the burial, posted by Papa Ugwuanyi, Elder.

Notices from the elders

When the town meeting moves or there's a burial, the elders post it. Everyone from the town sees it, wherever they live.

Your town, wherever you live.

Ohabuike opens town by town, starting with pilot towns and their founding elders. It isn't in the app stores yet.

Built by Bilie Tech · coming soon