By Biodun Busari

The designer of Nigeria’s flag, Pa Taiwo Akinkunmi died on Wednesday, August 30, 2023, by his son Samuel Akinkunmi via a post on his Facebook page.

Samuel in the post wrote “Life is indeed transient; I can say boldly you lived a life with a landmark. Continue to rest on, my father! Pa Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi (O.F.R) Great Man has gone.”

However, the late Akinkunmi did not live some of his years in the public glare, therefore, here are a few things about him:

1. Pa Akinwumi hailed from Owu in Abeokuta, Ogun state, but was born and grew up in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

2. He attended Baptist Day Secondary School, Idi-Ikan, Ibadan for his primary education and Ibadan Grammar School, Molete, Ibadan for his secondary education.

3. After his secondary education, he worked briefly at the defunct Western Region Secretariat, Ibadan, before he gained admission to study electrical engineering at Norwood Technical College, London.

4. Akinkunmi was in the United Kingdom studying when he saw an advertisement in a library calling for entries on designs of the national flag, applied and emerged as the designer of the green-white-green Nigerian flag in 1958 in view of the imminent Independence from British governance.

5. Upon his return to the country in 1963, Akinkunmi went back to the agricultural department at the Secretariat in Ibadan to continue where he stopped.

6. He worked as a civil servant until 1994 and retired as Assistant Superintendent of Agriculture. 

7. He was honoured with Officer of the Order of Federal Republic (OFR) and honorary life presidential adviser on 29 September 2014 by former President Goodluck Jonathan at the Conference Centre Abuja.

8. His heroic feat as the designer of the Nigerian flag earned him the nickname ‘Mr Flag Man’.