Lawmakers hail Jonathan for placing flag designer, Akinkunmi, on salary for life

Some members of the Lagos State House of Assembly (LAHA), on Tuesday, commended President Goodluck Jonathan for placing the National Flag Designer, Mr Micheal Akinkunmi, 77, on salary for life.
President Jonathan, while conferring on Akinkunmi the national award of Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OOFR) in Abuja on Sept. 29 during the national honours award, also announced his appointment as a Special Assistant, with a salary for life.
The flag of Nigeria was designed in 1959 and officially hoisted on Oct. 1, 1960. The two unique sea-green bands represent the forests and abundant natural wealth of Nigeria, while the white band represents peace. Mr Gbolahan Yisawu, (APC-Eti-Osa II), who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday, commended the President for remembering the national flag designer. He said “we thank God that the President has now finally honoured the man who designed the country’s national flag in his life time.
`We have raised the issue before on the floor of LAHA for the man to be recognised and honoured for his initiative.’’ The legislator urged Nigerians to emulate the good works of the national flag designer and engage themselves positively in democratic process to advance the nation’s democracy. Yishawu said that a nation could only develop democratically through a high number of peoples’ participation in free and fair election.
The lawmaker said that at 54, Nigeria could still perform better in terms of infrastructure development due to availability of both natural and human resources. Mr Saka Fafunmi (APC- Ifako-Ijaiye I), said Nigeria at 54 was still struggling with insecurity. Fafunmi appealed to the government to find a way of curbing insecurity and corruption in all sectors. According to him, the issue of epileptic power supply should be resolved by government to accelerate social and infrastructure development in the country.
Also honoured by the President was a taxi driver, Mr Umeh Usuah, who returned N18 million, a laptop and other documents to an expatriate who left it in his cab. Usuah was honoured with Member of the Order of Niger (MON). The taxi driver was also rewarded with a house in the Federal Capital Territory. A Traffic Warden, Cpl. Solomon Dauda; and the Chief Steward at the Presidency, Mr Onuh Isaac; were each rewarded with a house in Federal Capital Territory. Dauda and Isaac were both conferred with the award of Member of the Order of Niger