Taiwo Akinkunmi

{{Short description|Nigerian civil servant (1936–2023)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name             = Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi
| honorific_suffix = [[Order of the Federal Republic|OFR]]
| image            =
| image_size       =
| caption          = 
| birth_name       = Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi
| birth_date       = {{birth date|df=yes|1936|5|10}}
| birth_place      = [[Abeokuta]], [[Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria]]
| death_date       = {{death date and age|df=yes|2023|8|29|1936|5|10}}
| death_place      = [[Ibadan]], [[Oyo State]], Nigeria
| occupation       = Electrical engineer, retired Nigerian civil servant
| website          =
| years_active     = 1958–2023
| other_names      = Michael
}}

'''Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi''' [[Order of the Federal Republic|OFR]] (10 May 1936 – 29 August 2023) was a Nigerian civil servant who was best known for designing [[Flag of Nigeria|Nigeria's national flag]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=25 June 2021 |title=Akinkunmi unveils world’s largest flag in Ibadan |url=https://guardian.ng/news/akinkunmi-unveils-worlds-largest-flag-in-ibadan/ |access-date=7 March 2022 |website=The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News |language=en-US}}</ref> He was commonly referred to as '''Mr. Flag Man'''.{{r|Aderinto 2017 p. 113}}

== 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>

== Designing Nigeria's national flag ==
Akinkunmi entered the competition which he came across in a library. In his own words, "I took details of what is [to be] expected to design a flag that would be used by a country that was about to witness [its] independence. I took part in the competition and my design was selected as the best in the year 1958."{{r|Ismail Roxario 2001 p. 5}} In 2021, Akinkunmi unveiled the world’s largest national flag in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital.<ref>{{Cite web |date=24 June 2021 |title=Designer of Nigeria's flag, Akinkunmi, unveils world’s largest flag in Ibadan |url=https://tribuneonlineng.com/designer-of-nigerias-flag-akinkunmi-unveils-worlds-largest-flag-in-ibadan/ |access-date=27 April 2022 |website=Tribune Online |language=en-GB}}</ref>

{{gallery|mode=nolines|align=center|whitebg=no|height=90
|File:Flag of Nigeria (original proposal).svg|Akinkunmi's Original design
|File:Flag of Nigeria.svg|Final design
}}

== Personal life and death ==
Akinkunmi was married with a wife and had children.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://noblegistonline.blogspot.com/2018/02/biography-of-mr-flag-man-taiwo-akinkunmi.html|title=Biography of Mr Flag Man, Taiwo Akinkunmi|last=TopNews|website=Boomentertainment|access-date=30 January 2020}}</ref> He died on 29 August 2023, at the age of 87 after a brief illness.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tosin |first=Alamu |date=30 August 2023 |title=Who is Taiwo Akinkunmi: History of Nigerian Flag Designer » NGNews247 |url=https://www.ngnews247.com/who-is-taiwo-akinkunmi-history-of-nigerian-flag-designer/ |access-date=30 August 2023 |website=NGNews247 |language=en-US}}</ref>

==References==

{{reflist|refs=
<ref name="Aderinto 2017 p. 113">{{cite book
  | last        = Aderinto
  | first       = S.
  | title       = African Kingdoms: An Encyclopedia of Empires and Civilizations
  | publisher   = ABC-CLIO
  | year        = 2017
  | isbn        = 978-1-61069-580-0
  | url         = https://books.google.com/books?id=NZAwDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA113
  | access-date = 12 February 2018
| page        = 113
  | quote       = Taiwo Akinkunmi and the Nigerian Flag Born in 1936 and a lifelong civil servant of Ibadan, Akinkunmi is easily most famous for designing the Nigerian national flag. Only 23 years old at the time and studying abroad in London, Akinkunmi was prompted by a newspaper advertisement to enter the competition. His winning design earned him £100 and the nickname "Mr. Flag Man." The green and white stripes of his design serve as the inspiration for the color scheme of his house in ...
}}</ref>
<ref name="(Nigeria) 1991 p. 167">{{cite book
  | last        = (Nigeria)
  | first       = National Youth Service Corps
  | title       = NYSC Year Book
  | publisher   = The Corps
  | year        = 1991
  | url         = https://books.google.com/books?id=L0MzAQAAIAAJ
  | access-date = 12 February 2018
| page        = 167
  | quote       = .. colourful flower which grows widely in Nigeria. The eagle stands for strength, and the chargers symbolize dignity. The Nation's motto is Unity and Faith, Peace and Progress. The flag is divided vertically into three equal parts. The central part is white and the two outer parts are green. The green of the flag represents agriculture and the white is for unity and peace. Mr Taiwo Akinkunmi, at that time a 25-year old Nigerian engineering student at the Norwood Technical College, London, ...
}}</ref>
<ref name="Ismail Roxario 2001 p. 5">{{cite book
  | last1        = Ismail
  | first1       = Y.
  | last2       = Roxario
  | first2      = P.
  | title       = Nigeria
  | publisher   = Gareth Stevens Pub.
  | series      = Countries of the World
  | year        = 2001
  | isbn        = 978-0-8368-2337-0
  | url         = https://archive.org/details/nigeria00isma
  | url-access  = registration
  | language    = de
  | access-date = 12 February 2018
| page        = [https://archive.org/details/nigeria00isma/page/5 5]
  | quote       = ... The Nigerian flag is composed of three vertical panels of equal size. The two outer panels are green, representing Nigerian agriculture. The middle panel is white and symbolizes unity and peace. The flag was designed in 1958 by Taiwo Akinkunmi, a student from Ibadan. ...
}}</ref>
}}

==External links==
* [http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/60-minutes-with-the-man-who-designed-nigerian-flag/160096 Minutes with the man who design Nigerian Flag], Thisdaylive
* [http://encomium.ng/nigerias-flag-designer-pa-taiwo-akinkunmi-77-finds-joy-in-old-age/ Nigeria’s flag designer, PA TAIWO AKINKUNMI (77) finds joy in old age], Encomium Nigeria

{{Africa topic|Flag of|title=[[Flags of Africa]]}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akinkunmi, Taiwo}}
[[Category:1936 births]]
[[Category:2023 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Ibadan]]
[[Category:Flag designers]]
[[Category:Nigerian civil servants]]
[[Category:Yoruba people]]
[[Category:Ibadan Grammar School alumni]]
[[Category:Nigerian twins]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of the Federal Republic]]