Flag of Nigeria
Template:Short description Template:About Template:For Template:Use Nigerian English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox flag
The flag of Nigeria was designed by 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.<ref name=Smith/> In 1959, out of almost 3,000 entries, Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi won the competition with an equal green-white-green with a 16-ray red quarter sun on the white stripe was chosen.<ref name=Smith/> After acceptance, the committee removed the red quarter sun.<ref name=Legit>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name=Smith/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref name=Smith/><ref name=Legit/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Historical and variant flags
Template:See also In the late 17th century, present-day Nigeria was made up of diverse ethnic groups without national flags<ref name=Smith>Template:Cite encyclopaedia</ref> 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.<ref name=Smith/>
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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> This was replaced with the Nigerian coat of arms placed on the white stripe of the Nigerian flag; this also serves as the state flag.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Colours
| Template:Color | Template:Color | |
|---|---|---|
| RGB | 0/135/81 | 255/255/255 |
| Hexadecimal | #008751 | #FFFFFF |