Thursday, July 16, 2026

Nigerian flag designer Taiwo Akinkumi dies at 87

Mr Akinkumi, born on May 10, 1936, was a native of Abeokuta in Ogun state, although he lived much of his life in Ibadan.

• August 30, 2023
Taiwo Akinkunmi (Credit : Guardian)
Taiwo Akinkunmi (Credit : Guardian)

Taiwo Akinkumi (OFR), known for designing the Nigerian flag, passed on in the early hours of Tuesday after a brief illness.

One of his sons, Akinwunmi Akinkunmi, confirmed his death in a post on Facebook.

“ 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.” 

Mr Akinkumi, born on May 10, 1936, was a native of Abeokuta in Ogun state, although he lived much of his life in Ibadan. 

He attended Baptist Day Secondary School, Ibadan, for his primary education and Ibadan Grammar School, Ibadan, for his secondary education. 

Mr Akinkunmi started his work career as a civil servant at the Ibadan secretariat and later travelled overseas to further his studies. 

During his stay abroad in 1958, Mr Akinkumi saw an advert in a Nigerian daily calling for the submission of potential designs for the Nigerian flag as the country prepared for independence from British rule. He submitted his entry, which was selected from over 2,000 others.

His initial design had a red sun with rays in the middle of the white band flanked by two green bands. The overseeing committee removed the sun, leaving only the two green bands and the white band in the middle. 

The committee selected Mr Akinkumi’s design due to its perceived ingenuity. The green bands represent the natural wealth and forests in the country, while the white band represents peace.

The newly designed Nigerian flag was officially hoisted on October 1, 1960, in place of the British Union Jack, marking Nigeria’s independence day.

The Nigerian government awarded Mr Akinkumi £100 for the flag design. 

He was also honoured by the Goodluck Jonathan administration, which awarded him with a MON (Member of the Order of the Niger) Award.

We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

More from Peoples Gazette

farmers

Agriculture

FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology

The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Katsina State

Politics

Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku

“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

Courtroom

States

Complainant to perform 30-minute community service for wearing ripped jeans to court

The Prosecutor, Inspector Elisha Tellang, alleged that Lawal stole Elijah’s itel phone valued at N120,000.

Governor Peter Mbah

States

Enugu suspends three monarchs, four others for alleged security breaches 

The commissioner explained that the alleged conduct was contrary to Governor Peter Mbah’s zero-tolerance policy on insecurity in Enugu State.

LASTMA

Lagos

LASTMA rescued 200 victims across 500 road crashes in three months: General Manager 

Mr Bakare-Oki further advised residents to postpone non-essential trips during periods of heavy rainfall and flash floods to ensure their safety.

Wizkid

Showbiz

Wizkid, DJ Mustard, Tyla, others to perform at BlastFest July 18

The ‘Piece of My Heart’ crooner added that he would also perform at Trillville, also known as Tribeville Festival Deluxe in Minneapolis on July 24.

Courtroom

Abuja

Abuja man ordered to sweep court premises for one day over phone theft

The police said the offence contravened the provisions of Section 288 of the Penal Code Law.