Nigeria
Western Africa
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About
Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of 923,769 square kilometres (356,669 mi2). With a population of more than 242 million, it is the most populous country in Africa, and the world's sixth-most populous country. Nigeria borders Niger in the north, Chad in the northeast, Cameroon in the east, and Benin in the west. Nigeria is a federal republic comprising 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, where its capital, Abuja, is located. The largest city in Nigeria by population is Lagos, one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world and the largest in Africa.
Read more on Wikipedia →The Flag
History
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.
Design & symbolism
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. 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. After acceptance, the committee removed the red quarter sun. 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. On 1 October 1960, the modern-day flag became the official flag of an independent Nigeria and was raised for the first time in a ceremony by Lieutenant David Ejoor.
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