Who designed Nigeria's national flag, adopted at independence in 1960?

Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi designed Nigeria’s national flag, adopted at independence in 1960.

Akinkunmi entered a government competition while studying electrical engineering at Norwood Technical College in London. His design won in 1959 from almost 3,000 entries. The original proposal included a red quartered sun on the central white stripe, but the selection committee removed that element before adoption.

The final flag is a vertical green-white-green triband. Green is commonly associated with Nigeria’s agricultural wealth, while white represents peace and unity. It became official on 1 October 1960, when Nigeria became independent from British rule, and was first raised in a ceremony by Lieutenant David Ejoor.

A common mix-up is confusing Akinkunmi with Frederick Brownell, who designed South Africa’s current flag, or Theodosia Okoh, who designed Ghana’s. Akinkunmi is also widely remembered by the nickname “Mr. Flag Man.”