Nigeria at 64: The Story Behind The Design of The Green White Green Flag
- Recognised as one of 50 distinguished Nigerians, Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi designed the nation's flag in 1959, a year to Independence
- Akinkunmi decided to enter a competition for the best Nigerian flag design and triumphed among over 3,000 submitted designs
- Legit.ng reports that the flag is a three-line flag with green lines on the sides and white in the middle
Legit.ng journalist, Ridwan Adeola Yusuf, has over 9 years of experience covering public affairs and governance.
FCT, Abuja - When Nigeria gained independence in 1960 a new green-white-green flag was adopted.
Designed by Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi (of blessed memory), the green stripes represent the wealth in the country and the white band represents peace.
Source: Getty Images
In 1959, a year before Nigeria’s independence, a 23-year-old student helped colour the country’s identity.
After a British journalist, Flora Shaw, first suggested the name “Nigeria”, the young African gave the new country its national flag.
Akinkunmi was studying electrical engineering at Norwood Technical College in London when he saw a newspaper advert calling on people to enter a competition to design the Nigerian flag. His design was selected as the winner of a field of over three thousand entries.
He mailed his submission to Lagos a short time later, and in 1960, received a letter inviting him to the London office of the commissioner for Nigeria in the United Kingdom (UK), where he was told that his green and white design had been selected. He had won 100 pounds ($281 in 1959) as well as a place in Nigeria’s history books.
Akinkunmi’s original design included at its centre a red sun surrounded by rays. This was intended as “as a symbol of divine protection and guidance”, flag expert Whitney Smith, said, according to the BBC. However, the sun was omitted by the selection committee.
Akinkunmi's design stood out for its simplicity and symbolism.
The green stripes represent Nigeria's rich agricultural heritage, while the white band stands for peace.
On October 1, 1960, the flag in its current form came into effect as the first official banner of an independent Nigeria and was raised for the first time in a ceremony by Lieutenant David Ejoor. It replaced the colonial flag that had included the British union jack and a six-pointed green star under a red disk.
After independence, Akinkunmi took up a job with the ministry of agriculture, where he worked as a civil servant until he retired in 1994.
'Mr Flag Man' died in Ibadan, Oyo state, on August 29, 2023, at the age of 87.
Nigeria at 64: What is the way forward?
Meanwhile, Ahmad Adebayo, the national publicity secretary of the Association of Kwaran Youth in Diaspora, lamented that 64-year-old Nigeria is not moving forward.
Adebayo stated that Nigeria seems to be moving backwards on many development indices. However, the youth leader made suggestions on the way forward.
He told Legit.ng:
"The way forward is what we have left behind for the past 64 years. It includes the efforts of our heroes' past and their agenda that sought Nigeria's independence in 1960 - which was discarded by successive governments."
To progress as a nation, Adebayo challenged the current crop of leaders in Nigeria "to walk and look forward towards the abundance that is in every nook and cranny of the country".
He explained:
"They should look beyond politics and prioritise the future of the country.
"To have the Nigeria of our dream, we need the reorientation of the elites as well as the masses. If not, we might still celebrate the 65th and 70th anniversary towing same path."
Furthermore, Adebayo challenged Nigeria's leaders to have foresight about the economy, while prioritising citizens' welfare. He called for the country to "move from an all-time importing nation to a self-sufficient exporting country".
He said:
"We need to encourage local manufacturers with low-interest loans. Then, even if it is the privatisation of some of the industries under the government's supervision, the government should do it.
"To cap it all, the world is moving faster, Nigeria has been the African giant in every aspect of business, entertainment, investment, and military, it shouldn't be left out as other African countries are taking leads in affairs that make other countries to be respected."
'Nigeria on brink of one-party dictatorship' - Atiku
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Atiku Abubakar, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), called on Nigerians to reclaim their democracy from looming threats of oppression.
In his Independence Day message, Atiku expressed concern over 'Nigeria's corrosive political landscape', in which opposition parties are weakened and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) allegedly manipulates internal processes.
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Source: Legit.ng
