Taiwo Akinkunmi

== Early life and career ==
Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi was born in [[Ibadan]], of Yoruba origin, the older of a set of twins. He lived with his father until he was 8 years old before he relocated to the Northern part of Nigeria. He began his early education in the North.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Among all the houses on Emerald Street, Dugbe, Ibadan, Oyo State, Pa Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi's house stands out! Its uniqueness is neither because it is the most beautiful, nor the most expensive with the state-of-the-art facilities. {{!}} Encomium Magazine|url=https://encomium.ng/nigerias-flag-designer-pa-taiwo-akinkunmi-77-finds-joy-in-old-age/|language=en-US|access-date=16 May 2020}}</ref> After his father's retirement, he came down to the West and was re-enrolled at Baptist Day School, Idi-Ikan in Ibadan. He finished from [[Baptist Day School Idi-kan]] in 1949, and proceeded to [[Ibadan Grammar School]] (IGS) in 1950 where he enjoyed a very good education.

Akinkunmi 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 some years before gaining admission to the Norwood Technical College, currently known as [[Lambeth College]] in London where he studied electrical engineering.{{r|(Nigeria) 1991 p. 167}} While studying there, he designed the Nigerian Flag. He returned to Nigeria in 1963 and went back to the agricultural department at the secretariat in Ibadan to continue where he stopped.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Among all the houses on Emerald Street, Dugbe, Ibadan, Oyo State, Pa Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi's house stands out! Its uniqueness is neither because it is the most beautiful, nor the most expensive with the state-of-the-art facilities. {{!}} Encomium Magazine|url=https://encomium.ng/nigerias-flag-designer-pa-taiwo-akinkunmi-77-finds-joy-in-old-age/|language=en-US|access-date=16 May 2020}}</ref> He worked as a civil servant until 1994, when hired as Assistant Superintendent of Agriculture. He was honoured as an Officer of the [[Order of the Federal Republic]] (OFR) and honorary life presidential adviser on 29 September 1994 at the [[Abuja Conference Centre]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Designer of Nigerian Flag, Steward, Driver, Traffic Warden Bag National Honours|url=https://tell.ng/designer-nigerian-flag-steward-driver-traffic-warden-bag-national-honours/|last=Perishable|website=TELL|language=en-US|access-date=16 May 2020}}</ref>