Sola Adeyemo 
Pa. Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi, the famous Nigerian flag designer, has died. He died in the early hours of Tuesday after a brief illness at age 93.
Pa Akinkunmi’s demise was announced via the Facebook account of one of his children, who wrote: “Life is indeed transient; I can say boldly that you live a life with a landmark. Continue to rest, my father! Pa Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi (O.F.R.): Great Man has gone.”
Pa Akinwumi, a native of Abeokuta, Ogun State, was born on May 10, 1936, but lived in Ibadan until his demise. He lived with his father in Ibadan until he was 8 years old when he relocated to the Northern part of Nigeria. He began his early education in the North, and after his father’s retirement, he came down to the West and was re-enrolled at Baptist Day School, Idi-Ikan in Ibadan. He later attended Ibadan Grammar School, (IGS) Ibadan, for his Secondary education.
He started his career as a Civil Servant at the Secretariat of Ibadan and later travelled overseas to study Agricultural Engineering at Norway Technical College. In 1958, during his stay abroad, Akinkunmi stumbled upon an advertisement in a national daily calling for the submission of designs for the Nigerian national flag in view of Nigeria’s imminent Independence from British governance.
His entry was adjudged the best among the roughly 2,000 entries submitted and so won the contest till today became a foremost Nigerian Nationalist and was given the award of Officer of the Order of Federal Republic (OFR) and honorary Life Presidential Adviser on 29 September 2014 at the Conference Centre, Abuja.
He worked as a civil servant until 1994 and retired as Assistant Superintendent of Agriculture. Pa Akinkunmi was living in his old family house at Ekotedo Iya Olobe area of Dugbe before Late Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala built a house for him at Bishop Philips Academy Area of Iwo Road where he resided till his demise.
