VEJOH - VERITAS JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES

The point of departure for this study is to reassess a thought-provoking pandemonium that engulfed the embryonic church in Jerusalem as portrayed in Acts 6: 1-7. The challenge of injustice and lack of fairness among believers climaxed to murmuring and uncluttered agitation. This encounter with the apostles was a threat to the union of the already-built Christian community in Jerusalem. The Twelve acted positively and swiftly because drastic and instant measures were required to correct the mess or the Church runs the risk of fragmentation. The study, through the historical-critical method, narrative criticism and socio-rhetorical criticism and form criticism, examines the agitation against inequality in Acts 6:1–7, adopting the apostolic model of restructuring to draw dynamic lessons for the Nigerian experience. The paper adopts these approaches to critique and addresses the effect of socio-religious and political volatility in Nigerian society as initiated by the "divide and rule" and the "amalgamation" dogma of the Colonial Masters that preferred the North against the South. The seed sown by the British is what has steadily grown into a beast that is bullying the peaceful co-existence of Nigeria. The study reveals that to reinstate peaceful coexistence in a heterogeneous nation like Nigeria, there is a necessity for restructuring by ensuring the security of lives and property, fair representation and equity. This paper recommends a holistic restructuring, an Apostolic model that would restore justice and enable the devolution of powers amongst the federating regions or units.

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