Flag of Nigeria

Nigeria

Use	National flag
Proportion	1:2
Adopted	October 1, 1960
Design	A vertical bicolour triband of green, white and green
Designed by	Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi
Variant flag of Nigeria
Use	State flag
Proportion	1:2
Design	A vertical bicolour triband of green, white and green; charged with the Coat of arms in the centre
Variant flag of Nigeria
Use	Civil ensign
Proportion	1:2
Design	A red field with the national flag, in the canton
Variant flag of Nigeria
Use	State ensign
Proportion	1:2
Design	A blue field with the national flag, in the canton
Variant flag of Nigeria
Use	Naval ensign
Proportion	1:2
Design	A white field with the national flag in the canton, with the Naval seal in the fly.
Variant flag of Nigeria
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 in 1959 and first officially hoisted on October 1, 1960. The flag is a horizontal bicolor of green and white. The two green stripes represent Nigeria's natural wealth, while the white band represents peace.

The national flag is an adaptation of the winning entry from Taiwo Akinkunmi in a competition held in 1959. The original submission had a red radiating sun badge in the center triptych of one white horizontal with a green horizontal on each side. After the badge was removed by the judges, the flag has remained unchanged. Like other countries, Nigeria has special ensigns for civil and naval vessels. Some of its states also have flags. The designer of the national flag was Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi, a twenty-three-year-old student. He was studying at Norwich Technical College in England when he saw an advertisement in a newspaper that submissions were being accepted for the design of a new National flag. In 1959 Akinkunmi's design was chosen as the winner and, with adaptations, was first officially used on October 1, 1960, Nigeria's Independence Day.