Interview; Missionary Jasper GoGo Talks About His Experience With Police Brutality In His Travels.

Jasper GoGo is a season Missionary who has served in various capacities in many countries especially Uganda. He is also a minister in the vineyard of the lord preaching and teaching the word of God with humility.
He is also an author and has written various books that are currently blessing people around the world. Some of his books are; Winning Ways For Wise Women, A Date With Destiny, A Word Of Advice For Young People, Committed To Purpose, Missions Responsibility, Converting Prophecies to Miracle amongst others.

We have the opportunity to chart with The Man who is quite experienced in missions and have travel to lots of countries about his mission experience, his call and his experience with the police in his various mission fields. Part of the reason for the chat was propeled by the up rising of protests around the world focused on police brutality especially in his home town Nigeria where the #ENDSARS protest is still going on.

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THE INTERVIEW
You are welcome sir, its good to have you on this interview.

O. Please give us a bit about your background, dates, and places of missionary service, formal education, family, other pertinent backgrounds.

My full names are Jasper Chime Gogo. I was born and raised in Nigeria, trained in England, I live in the US, and do mission Work in East Africa ( Uganda to be specific). I am child number two in a family of 8 children. I’m the 1st son.
I have a doctorate degree in Christian Education and a couple of other training in Theology, Mission, Music, and counseling.

Q. What, in your childhood prepared you for missionary service?

Poverty! I grew up in Olodi Apapa area of Lagos Nigeria. If you know the area, you know it is one of the poorest parts of Lagos. The lowly humble life of lack and penury prepared me for mission work. It was there I learned to “abase”. I learned to go without food for days. A missionary knows how to live humbly.

Q. Tell us how you received your missionary call?

The first ten years of my ministry was music. I never planned it that way, but after ten years in music, I felt the urge to leave the church and go “North”. I didn’t know what that meant, so I started praying. That was how I was led to the ministry of a pastor. At the tail end of my nine years as a pastor, the urge came again to move. I had no idea what it was. I started praying. A few months into my tenth year, I left the church I was part of and went to England. That was where the vision got clearer and I know God was calling me to missions.

Q. Most families in Africa do not approve of missions for their children, how did your family respond?

None of my family or friends believed I was taking the right step. One even told me me “…if you die there, God didn’t send you”. I don’t blame anyone, the risks involved is unimaginable. No one takes on the task unless he is called to it.

Q. Which Misconceptions about missions did you have to overcome before and in service?

People think you have to be “ordained” for missions. No. Once you get the call, you get training and mentoring and then you move.
Also, many people think that a missionary is not supposed to work or get a paid job, they expect you to stay in the “field” and let the “Lord provide for you”. That’s not correct. Paul the apostle was a Tentmaker and eventually an author. A missionary needs to have a “handiwork” and not just depend on the so-called “sponsors”

Q. Who or what was most helpful in your preparation times (book or person)?

My lecturer who eventually became my thesis supervisor. He played a huge role in helping me understand my call to mission

Q. The early missionaries suffered to keep the gospel in most interior parts of the earth, is it the same with missions these days?

A lot has changed. Nowadays many young men and women prefer to stay in the city to do ministry; mostly because it is convenient. But God has called us to “uncomfortable” places. Few can leave their comfort zone to go suffered for Christ and the Kingdom. A lot has changed.

Q. If the clock could be turned back, what changes (if any) would you want to make in your own personal preparation for this service?

Rather than spend all that money to go to England, I would have gathered all resources available to me, and taken them to start a mission post. But as the Bible says, ” …all things work together for good”. God has a plan even in our confusion.

Q. As a missionary, How do you expect Police around the world to be?

Police are supposed to serve and protect the citizens who employed them.

Q. How does policing in this 21st century affect the world?

Modern-day policing has gone digital and very sophisticated. All over the world, police can do a lot without direct contact. They work with cameras, drones, and etc. They do cyber policing, community policing and etc.

Q. Being A missionary, have you experienced any police brutality in your travels and stay?

Yes, I have…mostly in African countries. I’m not sure why African police are like this, but I think poor remuneration may be a major factor.

Q. Please share your experiences?

Once I visited Nigeria and went to see my dad. I took a walk from his house to go make some bank deposits. Some men with guns pulled up in front of me and said they were “…doing stop and search”. I was shocked. I was not even driving. They searched for me and saw some foreign currency. They insisted I follow them to their force headquarters where they can check the genuineness of the money. People around the area asked me not to go with them and one person suggested I give them something or else they’ll shoot and probably kill me on our way to their head office. I gave them 250 pounds which they accepted after lots of pleas. The year was 2007.

Q. So many protests around the world right now are focused on police reform like the one in the USA about George Floyd and the current one happening in Nigeria, do you think it the right approach to curb the way police treat people?

The one in the US, I think is politically motivated. The US police are one of the most professional police I’ve ever seen in the world (I’ve been to 25 countries). But indeed, a few members of the police force in the US are bad. Some of them racist. But more importantly, the various police department in the US need retraining and some form of reform.

That said, I must say the people have a right to protest. The protest is the people’s way of saying “this is not the way we want to be served” and the government must respond to the people by finding ways to resolve the problem. The protest is democratic.

Q. How do these issues of Police brutality affect the church today?

Again, the church needs to be a part of the social system. If the church does not help society by way of information and education (spiritual), when things go wrong, the church will be empty. When people protest on the streets, the church should be there to reach out. Hardly do we see people fill the church when they are on the streets, pastors should go there and do ” church on the streets”.

Q. In your honest opinion, are the churches doing enough to make their voice heard?

No. Many churches sit on the sidelines. This is not good enough

Q. What more can the church do to gain the attention of those in power to carry out the reforms?

Like I always say, the church should be proactive and not reactive. We should be in power. We should put people in government. We should be the government

Q. What advice will you give to the churches in Nigeria?

Pay attention to issues of Justice. Help the helpless. Provide for the widows and take care of the orphans