On Wednesday, 30 August, 2023, the news of the death of Pa Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi OFR, the designer of Nigeria’s national flag, took the media space after it was announced via his son’s Facebook page.
Pa Akinkunmi, a national hero, designed the green-white-green flag in a competition in 1958 and which was hosted at the attainment of Independence in 1960. However, another version of the flag, being the world’s largest national flag, was unveiled in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, in 2021.
Mr. Flag, as Pa Akinkunmi was fondly called, gifted the nation a symbol of unity in form of the national flag. As an honour for his contribution to nation-building, the Federal Government conferred on him a national honour of ‘Officer of Order of the Federal Republic’ (OFR) in 2014.
The London-trained electrical engineer attained this feat at age 22. This made him a rally point, even in death, for ingenuity and intuition in modelling and mobilising the youths for Nigeria’s development
On the 4th of September, 2023, President Bola Tinubu sent a Federal Government delegation, led by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Malagi, on a condolence visit to the family of the late designer of national flag at his country home in Elebu area of Ibadan.
There, the minister while paying tribute to “Mr Flag” on a live television broadcast, announced that this national hero would not be buried like a mean man.
This commitment was also reiterated during the delegate’s meeting with the Oyo State governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, who was represented by his deputy, Bayo Lawal, and received them at the exco chamber. Subsequently, the South-West governors, at a meeting with Governor Makinde in Ibadan, pledged that a committee would be commissioned to fashion out a programme of activities for the burial of the late Pa Akinkunmi.
Unfortunately, till now, nothing has been done as the lifeless body of Pa Akinkunmi remains in the morgue without any date to foreclose his final journey home.
Eight months since his demise, feelers from the family have it that government is yet to set up a committee to plan the burial as the family finds it difficult to arrive at a sole decision to take their father out of the morgue for burial but only left with the option of settling the monthly mortuary expenses while waiting on government to take action.
From records, whenever, an elder statesman is billed for state burial, it is usually done within the shortest time frame. A times, it does not take up to a month before the ceremony takes place.
One then begins to wonder why the delay in giving the man whose enduring work has remained the symbol of unity, even at the face clamour for secession despite the public declaration by federal and state governments to accord him a befitting burial ceremony.
What then has been responsible for the delay in giving Mr Flag a befitting burial? How long will it take the government to organise a ceremony to put the holder of the national honour of OFR to eternal rest? If the Federal Government is foot-dragging, what of the South-West governor? Are they also incapacitated to carry their acclaimed pride to his place of final rest in pomp and ceremony? These and many more are questions running in the minds of close watchers.
Going forward, the Federal Government, South-West governors, Management of Oodua Investment Company Limited and the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria, DAWN Commission are hereby advised to, within the shortest time, remember Mr Flag’s contribution to Nigeria and accord him the deserved final honour on his eternal journey home so as to rightly place him in posterity. Enough is enough. Give Pa Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi a befitting burial. Let him rest.
The legislative arm of government should also enact a law stipulating the time-frame for setting up a committee and mobilisation of funds to execute burial activities for citizens placed on state burial list so as to prevent incidents of their corpses being abandoned in the morgue. By so doing, this prompt act will rekindle the spirit of statesmanship, selfless service and commitment to nationhood by citizens in their various walks of life.
•Adu is an award winning multimedia journalist with one and a half decades of broadcast and new media experience. He is passionate about developmental journalism. He can be reached via temidayoadu@gmail.com
