Pa Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi (OFR), the renowned designer of Nigeria’s national flag, has passed away at the age of 87, according to Wikipedia. His death, following a brief illness, was reported by the Nigerian Tribune Newspaper on Tuesday.
Announcing his demise on Facebook, one of his children 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.): Great Man has gone.”
Born on May 10, 1936, in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Pa Akinkunmi later resided in Ibadan. He received his primary education at Baptist Day Secondary School, Ibadan, and continued his secondary education at Ibadan Grammar School.
Pa Akinkunmi’s career journey began as a Civil Servant at the Ibadan Secretariat, after which he pursued further studies in Agricultural Engineering at Norway Technical College.
In a remarkable turn of events, during his time abroad in 1958, Akinkunmi came across an advertisement in a national newspaper soliciting designs for Nigeria’s national flag in anticipation of the country’s impending independence from British colonial rule. Out of approximately 2,000 submissions, his design was selected as the best, forever imprinting his name in Nigeria’s history.
