The national flag is an adaptation of the winning entry from Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi in a competition held in 1959. The original submission had a red radiating sun badge in the center triptych of one white vertical with a green vertical on each side. After the badge was removed by the judges, the flag has remained unchanged. Like other countries, Nigeria has special ensigns for civil and naval vessels. Some of its states also have flags. Akinkunmi was a twenty-three year-old student at the time he designed the flag. He was studying at Norwich Technical College in London, England, when he saw an advertisement in a newspaper that submissions were being accepted for the design of a new national flag of Nigeria. In 1959 Akinkunmi's design was chosen as the winner and, with adaptations, was first officially used on October 1, 1960, Nigeria's Independence Day.