{"id":10059,"date":"2014-03-31T16:14:47","date_gmt":"2014-03-31T16:14:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/?p=10059"},"modified":"2014-03-31T18:09:00","modified_gmt":"2014-03-31T18:09:00","slug":"isaiah-5714-can-overpower-armed-robbers-joe-appiah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/03\/isaiah-5714-can-overpower-armed-robbers-joe-appiah\/","title":{"rendered":"Isaiah 54:17 can overpower armed robbers \u2013 MP"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_10060\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10060\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Joe-Appiah.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-10060\" alt=\" The MP for Ablekuma North, Joe Appiah\" src=\"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Joe-Appiah-300x200.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Joe-Appiah-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Joe-Appiah.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10060\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><br \/>The MP for Ablekuma North, Joe Appiah<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>At a time Ghanaians are pressing the nation\u2019s security agencies to do more to protect them against brutal armed attacks by criminals; one of their representatives in the country\u2019s 275-Member legislature is proposing a heavenly solution to the problem.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ablekuma North MP, Joe Appiah<\/strong>, says law-abiding citizens who come under armed attack from criminals should simply recite the words of Isaiah 54:17 and they will be shielded by God.<\/p>\n<p>The MP\u2019s comments come at a time when the depreciating cedi has provoked many of Ghana\u2019s pastors into night by night prayers in a desperate but spirited bid to get the nation\u2019s fallen currency to regain strength against major international currencies.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c[In] 1995 when I was attacked by armed robbers, it was very terrible that time\u2026\u201d Mr. Appiah said at Monday\u2019s sitting of Ghana\u2019s national assembly. \u201cWhen the armed robbers came to me, I just prayed a simple prayer \u2013\u2013 Isaiah 54:17 \u2013\u2013 that no weapon fashioned against me shall prosper. It really worked\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>He went on, \u201cWe need protection in his House. If for example, an armed robber or gun men enter this august House, how many of us can recite Isaiah 54:17 so that God in his own image will save us?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The opposition MP was contributing to two statements read on the floor earlier by two colleague MPs on the recent wave of armed attacks that have claimed the lives of a number of Ghanaians.<\/p>\n<p>The Bible in Isaiah 54:17 says, \u201cNo weapon that is formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, said the LORD.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Appiah told colleague MPs at Monday\u2019s sitting the promise of the Lord in the above Bible verse was potent and that he was a living testimony. He apparently drew inspiration from some Ghanaian church leaders and believers who have recently turned to God to save the nation\u2019s troubled cedi.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI command the resurrection of the cedi! In the name of Jesus!\u201d <strong>Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams of Action Chapel<\/strong> said in a strong prayer recently. He then turned to Satan: \u201cTake your hands off the central bank!\u201d For days, news reports about his prayers sparked intense nationwide debate as to whether indeed heaven has any role to play in the management of an economy.<\/p>\n<p>Another influential Church Leader, <strong>Pastor Mensah Otabil of the International Central Gospel Church<\/strong>, fuelled the debate when told believers in the Gospel to \u201cstop having all night meetings for the change of the economy\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is time to plan to work hard; to be focused,\u201d he told a packed chapel of congregants at his Abossey Okai church.<\/p>\n<p>In a sermon titled \u201cPower of vision\u201d, Pastor Otabil said, \u201cEvery nation that has moved from third world to developed world had a clear plan. It didn\u2019t hope that things will happen\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Joe Appiah may have partly heeded the words the ICGC Pastor when, in his submission on the floor Monday, he went beyond asking Ghanaians to turn to God during armed attacks on them, to insist that institutions of state have a role to play in ensuring the safety of all.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need protection in this country,\u201d he said. \u201cThe Ministry of Interior should be able to give us full protection by the Police\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A wave of widely reported cold-blooded killings has triggered what appears to be nationwide panic among Ghanaians, with some fear-stricken citizens blaming what some have termed \u201ccontract killers\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>In Parliament today, two lawmakers echoed the sentiments of some of their constituents when they read statements on the floor, calling for an urgent national response to the threat posed by perceived \u201ccontract killers\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>On her feet, <strong>MP for Ablekuma West, Ursula Owusu<\/strong>, called the recent wave of murders in the country \u201ca threat to national security\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>She said, \u201cMr. Speaker, Ghana has gained prominence in the sub-region as a peaceful country where democracy and rule of law thrives. We have provided refuge for our neighbours who have suffered civil unrest and conflict and take pride in being an oasis of peace in a troubled region. However, over the last few months, the country has witnessed a series of gruesome murders which occurred under bizarre circumstances that are mind boggling\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The Ablekuma West MP then went on to list a number of recent unresolved murders documented in the country to back her position. She mentioned, among others, the deaths of Zoomlinon\u2019s Fennec Okyere, the Chief of Joma, Nii Ayitey Noyaatse I, Zenith Bank\u2019s Kwesi Prah and Fidelity Bank\u2019s Emmanuel Asante Akuffo.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMr. Speaker, while we cannot be certain about the actual causes of these crimes as many are still under investigation and no arrests have been made, some of these recent murder cases bear semblance of contract killings, where people who have scores to settle with others, hire people to kill them,\u201d she said. \u201cSome of the perpetrators could also be armed robbers who assault their victims before or after robbing them\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Ursula Owusu, a trained lawyer, added, \u201cThe rising tension in our society, \u2018get rich quick\u2019 syndrome, as well as impatience and intolerance among some young people and their unwillingness to use established processes and procedures to resolve differences could also be the cause of this phenomenon\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMr. Speaker, I therefore call on the law enforcement agencies to conduct thorough investigations, arrest and successfully prosecute the killers as well as the instigators and organizers of these crimes,\u201d she said. Her comments echoed an earlier call made in a similar statement read on the floor by <strong>Kennedy Osei Nyarko, MP for Akim Swedru<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Ursula Owusu also asked the Police to \u201cexpand and intensify\u201d night patrol as well as \u201cintensify public education on how these criminals operate and what the public should do when faced with dangerous situations\u201d in order to help reduce the crime rate in the country.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMr. Speaker, we should find a lasting solution to the current power outages as some of these murders cases happen when there is power outage,\u201d she added before going on to reiterate that \u201call members of Parliament\u201d should be \u201cprovided with personal security detail just as the Executive and Judiciary are\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur work exposes us to danger from disgruntled opponents, constituents and the general public and we need the assurance of our personal safety to enable us to continue serving the nation with peace of mind. Let us not wait until one of us falls victim to these marauding criminals for hire before we act,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Her call for MPs to be provided with \u201cpersonal security detail\u201d drew strong support from many colleague MPs who rose to comment on the two statements. Many cited the recent armed robbery attack on Nkwanta South MP, Gershon Gbediame and the near fatal attack on <strong>Akan MP, Joseph Kwadwo Ofori<\/strong>, as basis justification for MPs to be given state-sponsored bodyguards.<\/p>\n<p>During proceedings, MPs heard their colleague, <strong>Gershon Gbediame\u2019s<\/strong> own chilling account of how robbers raided his home on January 11 this year.<\/p>\n<p>So far, eight suspected robbers believed to have been involved in the armed raid on the former Majority Chief Whip\u2019s Community 17 home have been arrested and are facing criminal charges.<\/p>\n<p>In his closing remarks, <strong>First Deputy Speaker, Ebo Barton Oduro, <\/strong>directed that the two statements and the contributions from members be forwarded to the Ministry of Interior for attention.<\/p>\n<p>He said, \u201c\u2026When we reconvene after the recess [expected to start on Tuesday] I further direct that the Minister for the Interior should present to this House a policy statement on these recent murders [and] what steps are being taken to control the situation\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>By Richard Dela Sky\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; At a time Ghanaians are pressing the nation\u2019s security agencies to do more to protect them against brutal armed attacks by criminals; one of their representatives in the country\u2019s 275-Member legislature is proposing a heavenly solution to the problem. Ablekuma North MP, Joe Appiah, says law-abiding citizens who come under armed attack from criminals [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":10060,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[43,38,7],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Isaiah 54:17 can overpower armed robbers \u2013 MP - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. 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