In Latin, the dominant language at the time, Magna Carta, means “Great Charter,” and it is the most significant influence on the historical process that led to the rule of constitutional law in today’s in the English-speaking world.

The Magna Carta has its roots in a conflict between the King of England, John, and 40 English barons. John was the kind of king who imprisoned his own wife, allegedly murdered his own nephew, and made his barons pay high taxes so that John could fight expensive foreign wars. If they refused to pay, he punished them severely or seized their property.

The king violated a number of ancient laws and customs by which England was governed. These laws provided a robust administrative system, but the nature of government under the Kings was ill-defined and uncertain. The King ruled by “force of will” doing what he wanted, when he wanted.

By 1204, John lost most of his lands to the French, and as a result, raised taxes to gather money to fight the French. This war with the French ended in defeat, part of who’s settlement was that the King had to pay compensation to the French. This proved too much for the barons and they rebelled against the King.

The barons demanded that King John obey the law; when he refused, they captured London and John was forced to negotiate.

Ultimately, the Archbishop of Canterbury drafted the Magna Carta to make the peace. The two sides met at Runnymede on June 10, 1215 to hammer out the agreement which became the Magna Carta.

Among the agreements in the document was the right of the church to be free from governmental interference, the rights of all free citizens to own and inherit property and to be protected from excessive taxes.

It established the right of widows who owned property to choose not to remarry, and established principles of due process and equality before the law. It also contained provisions forbidding bribery and official misconduct.

This was a crucial turning point in the struggle to establish freedom from absolute rule.

Though the Magna Carta was nullified by Pope Innocent III just a few weeks later, the document was reissued several more times before the “final” version was issued in 1225. Three clauses from that version of the Magna Carta remain on the books today.

The document would inspire many, including America’s Founding Fathers, suffragettes, and Gandhi. It also paved the way for the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was written after World War II.

Nigeria, needs a version of the Magna Carta. Ultimately, Nigeria as it is today, and embodied in our current Constitution, is a relic of military rule with too much power concentrated in the hands of the President.

We need to renegotiate these excess powers, and concentrate more of the powers in the hands of the units of the country, the states, and local areas, which are closer to the people, and as a result will ultimately be more accountable