Apartheid policy as practised in old South Africa, though defunct, derived from the separatist ideology, which is a valid worldview that demands some explanation. As a worldview, separatist ideology is an attempt to apply, translate and practicalise in human settings a natural law which demands hierarchical groupings of species in homogeneous order for the purpose of harmony and mutual interactions.
Despite the wide diversities we find in nature, we also observe an intelligent ordering, such that unity and beauty come about through mutual interactions. Similarly, development and progress come about when species are allowed to grow and blossom in their natural habitat or ethic environment. When human beings fail to allow themselves to be guided by the eternal wisdom of nature, then distortions, aberrations and ill health are brought about. Nature is a great educator!
Ranging from marriages, political groupings, to other relationships and interactions, being “unevenly yoked together” is a foundation for failure. We must admit that there are fundamental differences and inequalities among human beings and that individuals feel more at home among their own kinds. The similarities or homogeneity may be in the state of maturity, mind-set, perception, etc
The observable and distinct differences which we find among human beings are not arbitrary or without purposes, neither can we ignore such differences without paying some penalty. Is culture not the pure and distinctive extracts of the unique lines of development and experiences of human groups and races? Even if we imitate others, yet, we cannot and should not deny ourselves.
Every race or group has a unique and exclusive foundation which forms the starting point of advancement and interactions with others. When such foundation is not taken into consideration in the course of mutual interactions, the result is usually friction which can lead to more serious conflicts and animosities.
Unity is not the same thing as uniformity, rather, the beauty of unity lies in harmonious interactions based on mutual understanding and respect for the uniqueness of others. Thus the best way to approach and get along with any one or group is to begin from that point of a smooth opening to link and unite with the other.
The Jewish Torah admonishes that no one should allow himself to become a door-mat for others to trample upon. Similarly, no self-respecting group should allow the influence of a prevailing culture to make such group to forsake its values. Holding on to yourself and what values you inherit is a defining principle of individual personality.
World history shows that human beings have failed to heed the warning against depriving others of their individual identity and unique ways of finding happiness, so long as they do not cause injuries to others. In our intolerance and conceit, we tend to believe that others must be like us, or see and do things the same way we do. To introduce uniformity in human settings, choices and perceptions, is to be guilty of dictatorship, which often results in frictions among human groups.
Nation-building demands that already existing foundations must form the basis of mutual interactions, without destroying one, to support another. It is the ability to manage and strengthen diversities and differences rather than widen them for political purposes, which makes an astute statesman. It is not in vain that there is an idiom of birds of same feather flocking together. That idiom expresses a law that affects human relationships.
Wherever there is a thoughtless grouping together of people who do not share common identities, frictions usually arise in the future. But for political and economic purposes such uneven grouping of people take place, especially where there is some hidden motive of parasitism. Groups that benefit from parasitic political arrangements would hardly allow a restructuring that would change such arrangement. What comes next would be unending agitations and insecurity.
Those who seek for separation from where they feel marginalized and exploited usually have some strong moral justification for their demand, if they do not go about it in a violent way. Suppression is as unnatural as oppression is a political tool to deal with demands for separation. But the price for suppression and oppression can also entail some unexpected surprises.
There is a valid concept of Positive Discrimination which stipulates that it is wrong to retard the progress of a fast runner or pollute what is pure in an effort to create an “egalitarian” society. Inequalities would always be there among humans, the same way that abilities differ widely among individuals. But it is unethical and retrogressive to suppress one man’s ability in an attempt to boost the competence of another.
Instead of various individuals and groups working together mutually for the good of humanity generally, what we find is a ruthless struggle for political and economic exploitation of one group or nation by another. Progress shows itself in the improvement of what already exists, rather than suppress what someone else has, or ignore the ability of another. Development is a continuous process whereby lapses and deficiencies must be recognized and addressed, not spread.
Dr. Amirize is a retired lecturer from the Rivers State University, Port Harcourt.

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