Flag of Nigeria

Federal Republic of Nigeria
Use	National flag
Proportion	1:2
Adopted	1 October 1960; 64 years ago
Design	A vertical bicolour triband of green, white and green.
Designed by	Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi
Use	State flag
Proportion	1:2
Design	A vertical bicolour triband of a green, white and green; charged with the coat of arms in the centre.
Use	Civil ensign
Proportion	1:2
Design	A red field with the national flag, in the canton
Use	State ensign
Proportion	1:2
Design	A blue field with the national flag, in the canton
Use	Naval ensign
Proportion	1:2
Design	A white field with the national flag in the canton, with the Naval seal in the fly.
Use	Air force ensign
Proportion	1:2
Design	A sky-blue field with the national flag in the canton, with the air force roundel in the fly.

The flag of Nigeria was designed by Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi and was officially adopted to represent Nigeria at midnight on 1 October 1960, the day the country gained independence. The flag was chosen as part of a nationwide open contest held by the government, with Akinkunmi's design being selected as the winner of a field of over three thousand entries. The flag is a vertical bicolour green-white-green design, with green representing agriculture and white representing peace and unity.

The flag was raised for the first time in a ceremony by Lieutenant David Ejoor of the Army Guard.

History and design

In preparation for the independence of Nigeria from the British Empire, a national planning committee was established which set a competition to select a national flag in 1958.^[1] In 1959, out of almost 3,000 entries, Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi won the competition with an equal green-white-green with a red quarter sun on the white stripe was chosen.^[1] After acceptance, the committee removed the red quarter sun.^[2] The accepted flag now consists of a vertical bicolour green-white-green; the green stands for agriculture and the white stands for unity and peace.^[1]^[3] On 1 October 1960, the modern-day flag became the first official flag of an independent Nigeria and was raised for the first time in a ceremony by Lieutenant David Ejoor.^[1]^[2]^[4]

Flag of the Protectorate of Nigeria (1914–1960)
Akinkunmi's original design
Final design

Historical and variant flags

In the late 17th century, present-day Nigeria was made up of diverse ethnic groups without national flags^[1] In 1914, after the amalgamation of the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and Northern Nigeria Protectorate, Lord Lugard chose a British blue ensign with a green hexagram described as the Zionist-like Star of David surrounding the royal crown with the white word "Nigeria" under it on a red disc as the flag of the Nigerian Protectorate.^[1]

The standard of the President of Nigeria from 1960 had a red field with a large green shield and fimbriated white in the centre. It also features a black shield with a wavy-edged "Y"—representing the confluence of the Niger and Benue Rivers. There are three black scrolls containing the legend "President", "Federal Republic", "of Nigeria" placed on each scroll respectively in gold letters.^[5] This was replaced with the Nigerian coat of arm placed on the white stripe of the Nigerian flag; this also serves as the state flag.^[6]