February 02, (THEWILL) – The news report that the Federal Government donated the sum of N30 million to the family of renowned designer of the National Flag, late Pa Taiwo Akinkunmi, two years after his death, is not only belated but an insult to the memory of the patriot who designed the Nigerian flag in 1958 at age 22 and got 100 British pounds for his noble effort.
The inaction, lack of concern and hesitation displayed by the Federal Government for more than a year since Pa Akinkunmi died on August 29, 2023 at the age of 87 and was buried on September 6, 2024, a year after, speaks volume about how officialdom treats patriots in this part of the world.
Apart from a government delegation sent by President Bola Tinubu and led by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Malagi, to pay a condolence visit, the government failed to honour its pledge to give the late Nigerian hero a state burial and financial support to the family.
One of the sons of the deceased, Akinwunmi Akinkunmi, expressed gratitude to Tinubu for the gesture.
After waiting for the promised state burial for over a year, late Pa Akinkunmi’s family were forced to proceed with his burial.
“We have to give him the befitting burial he deserves,” his son, Akinwumi Akinkunmi, told the BBC Focus on Africa podcast.
Akinwunmi told the BBC last year that “the family had waited patiently for the government to fulfil its promise, but as the months went by, it became clear that no arrangements were being made.”
He told BBC that while waiting on the government, the family were paying N2,000 each day to keep the patriot’s remains in a morgue. “This was why the Oyo State Government decided to step in to fund the burial rites for the flag designer.”
Continuing, Akinwunmi told BBC that in June 2024 after waiting helplessly, they found out that “the arts ministry’s National Institute for Cultural Orientation was responsible for arranging a state funeral for his late father. However, despite an initial phone call, there has been no further communication or progress from the institution.”
He expressed fears that, “waiting longer will dishonour his father’s memory.”
Fortunately for them, the Oyo State Government had to step in to support the family and give a befitting burial to their father.
At the interment of the octogenarian after a funeral service held at the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, Liberty Road, Ibadan and attended by members of the Oyo State cabinet; members of the state advisory council; former Oyo Assembly lawmaker, Honourable Ibrahim Bolomope; GOFAMINT members; personnel of various security agencies, the national choir, students of Akinkunmi’s alma mater family members, among others, the Acting Governor of the state, Bayo Lawal, had this to say: “His burial should have been a Federal Government affair, rather than being left to the deceased family and the Oyo State Government because Pa Akinkunmi represented a classic example of a national icon and the Federal Government should not abdicate its duty to give him the deserved respect and honour, whether alive or dead.”
Oyo State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Dotun Oyelade, issued a statement to buttress the Deputy Governor’s remark, thus, “The commemoration of the death of an iconic figure like Pa Taiwo Akinkunmi, who designed the Nigerian flag 64 years ago at the age of 23, should be treated as a national festival. The fact that Pa Akinkunmi hailed from this part of the country does not diminish his status as a national hero.”
Last Thursday, two years and four months after his death and six months after his burial, the Director-General of the National Orientation Agency, Lanre Issa-Onilu, in the company of the Oyo State Director of the agency, Olukemi Afolayan, officially presented the cheque on behalf of the Federal Government at the Ibadan home of the late Akinwumi Akinkunmi. Sad.
The NOA DG said, “The donation of N30 million to the family of a renowned National Flag designer was not to pay for the services of the late legend but to support his family in appreciation of his contributions to the country.”
Now, apart from its people, a country is known by its flag and currency. For a man who designed the pre- independence flag that passed the critical assessment of the British colonial government, his name ought to be in the lips of every of his compatriots. A national burial would have etched him in their memory forever.
To have reduced his patriotism to the, “donation of N30 million… to support his family in appreciation of his contributions to the country,” is so repulsively transactional to be considered a homage to Pa Taiwo Akinkumi’s memory.
