The designer of the Nigerian flag, Pa Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi (OFR) is dead.
Akinkunmi, 86, died early Tuesday morning after a brief illness.
His death was announced via the Facebook account of one of his children.
Akinwumi hailed from Abeokuta, Ogun State. He was born on May 10, 1936, but lived in Ibadan until his death.
He attended Baptist Day High School, Ibadan for elementary school and Ibadan Grammar School, Ibadan for high school.
He started his career as a civil servant at the Secretariat in Ibadan and later went abroad to study agricultural engineering at the Norwegian Technical College.
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In 1958, while abroad, Akinkunmi came across an advertisement in a national daily newspaper calling for the submission of the Nigerian flag design in light of Nigeria’s impending independence from British administration.
His entry was rated as the best out of about 2,000 submissions.
The original flag design featured white stripe flanked by green stripes and a red sun with diffuse rays resting on the white stripes.
The supervision committee subsequently removed the sun to create the current design.
Akinkunmi’s design was chosen for its ingenuity and depth (the green stripes represent the country’s forests and the richness of nature, while the white stripes represent peace).
The flag was officially raised on National Day (October 1, 1960) to replace the British Union Jack flag.
Akinkunmi received £100 from the government when his project was selected.
He also received the MON (Member of the Niger Order) award from former President Goodluck Jonathan.
