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Flag of Nigeria

National flag From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Flag of Nigeria
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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.

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Nigerian flag at the Nigerian embassy in Washington, DC

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

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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]

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Historical and variant flags

In the late 17th century, present-day Nigeria was made up of diverse ethnic groups without national flags[1] After the amalgamation of the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and Northern Nigeria Protectorate in 1914, Lord Lugard designed a new flag for Nigerian Protectorate, consisting of a blue field with the Union Jack in the canton, and a red disc on the fly side, within it a green hexagram surrounding the royal crown and "Nigeria" written in white text below it.[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"β€”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]

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Colours

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See also

References

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