<Tr> <Th> Proportion </Th> <Td> 1: 2 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Design </Th> <Td> A sky - blue field with the national flag in the canton, with the air force roundel in the fly . </Td> </Tr> <P> The flag of Nigeria was designed in 1959 and first officially hoisted on 1 October 1960 . The flag is a vertical 1: 2 triband of green, white, green . The two green stripes represent Nigeria's natural wealth, while the white band represents peace . </P> <P> 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 centre 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 . </P>

What do the colours of the nigerian flag represent