Last modified: 2022-10-22 by bruce berry
Keywords: nigeria | agriculture | peace | unity | colour | niger | green | sun: red |
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image by Antonio Martins, 29 Dec 2008
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The original proposal
for the flag of Nigeria had a red sun on the white
stripe, but that was
not accepted.
Flying over his native land on his way to London for university work, M. T. S. Akinkunmi was impressed by the virgin green land below him. He chose that colour as the primary symbol for Nigeria in the flag he designed which was the winner in a contest that drew almost 3000 entries.
The white stripe in the center signifies peace; the green stands for agriculture, which remains the backbone of the national economy. The red sun that Akinkunmi had included on the white stripe was omitted by the Committee that approved the final design.
Source: Flags Through the Ages and Across the World by Whitney Smith (1975) [smi75c]