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From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan and Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
President Bola Tinubu has conveyed his sympathy to the family of Pa Taiwo Akinkunmi, designer of the national flag.
Pa Akinkunmi, who was born on May 10, 1936, in Abeokuta, Ogun State, died on Tuesday.
In a statement by Ajuri Ngelale, Tinubu condoled with friends and associates of the retired civil servant, who 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 affirmed that the green and white flag is a legacy that has consistently reflected the fruitfulness, resilience, and harmony enjoyed by the nation.
He said it represented the boldness and uniqueness with which Nigerians characteristically reach for and achieve success around the world.
The president believed Pa Akinkunmi lived and worked for the greatness of the country, with a generational legacy and a place of honour in Nigeria.
The announcement of his death was made via the Facebook account of one of his children, Samuel Akinwumi Akinkunmi.
“Life is indeed transient; I can say boldly that you live a life with a landmark. Continue to rest, my father! Pa Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi (O.F.R.): Great Man has gone,” he wrote.
During his lifetime, he attended Baptist Day Secondary School and Ibadan Grammar School. He had a stint in the civil service of the defunct Western Region at the Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan, before he travelled overseas to study Agricultural Engineering at Norway Technical College.
He was said to have stumbled on an advertisement in a national daily in 1958, calling for the submission of designs for the Nigerian national flag ahead of the independence of Nigeria from the British colonial imperialism on October 1, 1960.
Akinkunmi’s design for the Nigerian national flag, which featured a white band flanked by two green ones and a red sun with streaming rays, was selected in 1958 among about 2,000 entries, as the winning entry because of its ingenuity and profundity.
The flag was officially hoisted on Nigeria’s Independence Day, October 1, 1960 in replacement of the British Union Jack. Pa Akinkunmi was awarded 100 pounds by the government for his design of the flag.
In an interview during his lifetime, he said: “I took details of what is expected to design a flag that would be used by a country that was about to witness independence. I took part in the competition and my design was selected as the best in the year 1958.”
He was honoured with Officer of the order of Federal Republic (OFR) and honorary life presidential adviser on 29 September 2014 at the Conference Centre Abuja.
Akinkunmi received the Officer of the order of Federal Republic (OFR) Award from President Goodluck Jonathan and honorary life presidential adviser on September 29, 2014 at the Conference Centre Abuja.
Born in Ibadan as older of a set of twins, he lived with his father until he was eight years old before he relocated to the Northern part of Nigeria.
He began his early education in the North and after his father’s retirement, he came down to the West and was re-enrolled at Baptist Day School, Idi-Ikan in Ibadan.
He was a Nigerian civil servant who was commonly referred to as Mr. Flag Man.
