Last modified: 2014-07-05 by bruce berry
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image by Željko
Heimer, 05 July 2002
On 01 October 1960 Nigeria gained independence from the United Kingdom. An all Nigerian Executive Council was established headed by a Prime Minister and a Governor-General was head of state. The country was a federation of three regions - North, East and West, with Lagos as the Federal Capital. Each of the regions was headed by a Premier with a Governor as ceremonial head.
On 01 October 1963 Nigeria became a Federal Republic within the British
Commonwealth of Nations. The Governor-General was
replaced by a President as Head of State.
Jarig Bakker, 02 Jan 2003
Album de Pavillons [pay01] shows the flag used by the President of the Nigeria, and also by an Ambassador, to be the the national triband with the coat of arms in the centre in proportion 3:5.
Apart from the ratio, this is closest to what we may tentatively call the state flag. This flag is described as such in The Complete Guide to Flags by William Crampton (1990) [cra90f].
The Coat of Arms is shown differently in various sources. Album de
Pavillons [pay01]
shows them
with yellow horses and white ribbon (inscribed UNITY AND FAITH PEACE AND
PROGRESS), while Crampton [cra90f] shows white horses and yellow ribbon.
Whitney Smith in Flags Through the Ages and Across the World [smi75] and [smi82]
illustrates somewhat different arms, with the inscription being only UNITY AND
FAITH. I suppose the coat of arms may have changed, probably at the same time when
the new naval ensign was adopted and possibly when the civil ensign was abandoned.
Željko Heimer, 05 July 2002
image by Željko
Heimer, 05 July 2002
Initially, the Presidential Standard had a red field, also in proportion 1:2, with a large green shield, fimbriated white, in the centre. This was charged with the shield from the Coat of Arms which is black, with a wavy-edged 'Y' or 'pall' in white (representing the confluence of the Niger and Benue Rivers against the black of Nigeria). Above and below this are three black scrolls containing the legend "President Federal Republic of Nigeria" in gold letters. (Source: Flags of the World by EMC Barraclough and William Crampton (1981) [c2b81] on page 153.
The date when this flag ceased to be used is not known.
Santiago Dotor, 13 April 2000