The designer of the green-white-green Nigerian national flag, Taiwo Akinkunmi, is dead.
Thelagostimes gathered that Akinkunmi, who designed the national flag in 1958, died aged 87.
One of his children announced his death on Facebook.
He wrote: “Life is indeed transient; I can say boldly that you lived a life with a landmark. Continue to rest, my father! Pa Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi (O.F.R.): A great man has gone.”
Mr Akinkunmi, born on 10th May 1936, attended Baptist Day Secondary School, Ibadan, for his primary education and Ibadan Grammar School, (IGS) Ibadan, for his secondary education. He left IGS in 1955 and took an appointment as an agriculturist at the Western Region Secretariat in Ibadan as a civil servant. He would then work for some years before gaining admission to the Norwood Technical College in London where he studied electrical engineering. While studying there, he designed the Nigerian Flag.
Meanwhile, in a statement on Wednesday, President Bola Tinubu expressed his deepest sympathy to the Akinkunmi family.
The President said Akinkunmi “dedicated his life to the service of the nation, sharing knowledge and experience with old and young, and inspiring many to think and act patriotically”.
“The President affirms that the Green and White flag is a legacy that has consistently reflected the fruitfulness, resilience, and harmony enjoyed by the nation, and the boldness and uniqueness with which Nigerians characteristically reach for and achieve success around the world.”