Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi OFR (10 May 1936 – 29 August 2023) was a Nigerian civil servant best known for designing Nigeria’s national flag. He was commonly referred to as Mr. Flag Man.
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 eight years old before relocating to the northern part of Nigeria, where he began his early education. After his father’s retirement, he returned 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 worked for some years before gaining admission to Norwood Technical College, currently known as Lambeth College in London, where he studied electrical engineering. 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 his work. He worked as a civil servant until 1994, when he retired 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.
Source: Wikipedia
