The designer of the Nigerian Flag, Pa Taiwo Akinkunmi, died on Tuesday at the age of 87. His son, Akinkunmi Akinwumi Samuel, announced his demise via his Facebook page on Wednesday.
He wrote, “Life is indeed transient; I can say boldly you live a life with a landmark. Continue to rest on, my father! Pa Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi (O.F.R) Great Man has gone.”
Akinkunmi was awarded 100 pounds by the government when his design was selected as the Nigerian flag.
He has also been honoured with the Order of Federal Republic award by President Goodluck Jonathan.
Taiwo Akinkunmi, born in Ibadan on May 10, 1936, and has lived there most of his life, was from Abeokuta, Ogun State.
He had his secondary education at the Ibadan Grammar School and got his school leaving certificate there in 1950.
While he was an undergraduate at Norwood Technical College in London he heard of the call to design the national flag and submitted his design. In 1958, his design was chosen as Nigeria’s National flag
Akinkunmi initially painted a sun on the white of the green/white/green which was later discarded. He was awarded a cash prize of 100 pounds for winning the contest., while in 2010, he was given a presidential award by the federal government.
He was honoured with Officer of the Order of Federal Republic (OFR) and honourary Life presidential adviser on 29 September 2014 at the Conference Centre Abuja.
In 2021, Akinkunmi unveiled the world’s largest national flag in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital.