ON the electronic media the spokesperson of the Department of State Service, DSS/SSS, Marilyn Ogar comes across as a tough security officer who speaks firmly and authoritatively on issues concerning the operations of her agency.

Since enlisting in the Service in 1988 as intelligence officer, after obtaining a degree in Languages from the University of Calabar, Ogar has held several positions and served in various state commands and training institutions.

She has participated in several capacity building programmes at home and abroad, including her participation in the pioneer class of the Advance Intelligence Management Course, AIMC, in 2008 which was held at the Institute of Security Studies, ISS.

Since 2009 when she was deployed to spearhead the restructuring of the Open Source Intelligence Department, the PR arm of SSS in the Office of the Director General, she has demonstrated her skills in PR practice in projecting the image of the agency to the world. She is currently a member of several committees, including the Presidential Committee on Public Awareness and Civic Responsibility, Joint Security Information Committee, Strategic Action Plan for Public Information Management and Forum of Spokespersons in Security and Response Agencies.

Behind the media screen, at private level, she has a softer side, the woman-instinct, motherly care. She shed away the toga of her toughness to crack humorous jokes in lively interactions.

At a recent private media interaction hosted by the Forum of Spokespersons on Security and Response Agencies, FOSSRA, that softer side was further manifested when her lively countenance and joking demeanour gave way to her emotional side.

She was asked if the attempted jail break at the SSS Headquarters was staged by the operatives(as reported on social media) as a cover to execute hardened terrorists in custody. Her smiling face changed suddenly as if overcame by emotion. With reddened eyes, but in firm, though quivering voice, she said that as a mother with grown up children, she could not imagine how a respected institution like the SSS would stage-manage a show in a sensitive area just to kill people. With a ball of tear rolling down her cheek, she swore that if the accusation is true, may the Almighty God judge her, but if it isn’t, may the accusers be judged accordingly.

After calming down from her emotional outburst a moment later, she told the bewildered audience how SSS operatives have sacrificed their lives in different operations nationwide to protect the citizens from terrorists and criminal elements but yet the agency is unnecessarily attacked mostly on social media.

This raises salient issues from the recent attempted jail break by insurgents in managing crisis or disaster through information management in the age of social media. The emergence of the social media has reduced the obsession over traditional media. Gone were the days when you have to wait for the traditional media as the social media has triggered a need for quick response. The news of the attack with pictorial evidence first broke on twitter with different theories being thrown all over in the dark on what was really happening.

More so, realising how the news travel fast on mostly twitter on that Sunday morning when people should be enjoying the weekend or worshipping in the church, Ogar issued the first brief press release at about noon, disclosing that it was an attempted jailbreak to debunk the rumours of ‘coup plot,’ and ‘terrorist invasion’. The first message allayed the fear of citizens and the international community. A spokesperson can’t wait for the damage to be done before setting things right.

In a similar vein, gone were the days where one needed to invite and gather journalist together for briefing. The rise of the social media has given way to a spontaneous response on various social platforms from the comfort of offices of spokespersons. While the first release was issued, updates were provided by Ogar and her team on social media.

Thus, social media monitoring and measurement should be a top priority of any spokesperson or press secretary. You don’t need to buy all the papers or watch all the television channels. You only need to google the latest on the issue to track what are being reported. Probably in a response to such demands, Ogar issued three press releases in less than six hours to provide further updates to correct erroneous impressions and attend to enquiries.

More so, it is imperative that one responds to emergencies and other things that may come up, but at the same time, one must put at the back of one’s mind that the social media isn’t as ethical as the traditional media. Rules and ethics guide the traditional media, unlike the social media where everyone is a “journalist” and there are always unscrupulous elements that are bent on being mischievous. No matter the imperfection, spokespersons should discharge their responsibilities without fear or favour.

In a nutshell, while one must commend effort of the SSS to douse the tension by providing information when it is needed, Ogar as professional PR person surely has constraint on what to say, how to say it and when to say it because national security has various approval chains, including clearing from the Real Oga at the Top. We may blame spokesperson for not being forthcoming, we can only encourage them to know that in a democratic setting, there shouldn’t be too much secrecy when it comes to security because the citizens want to be adequately informed they are indeed “securely safe.”

Keeping information from people makes them wary and suspicious. As much as possible, security agencies should endeavour to give out as much information as they can.

Ms ADEDOYIN ADEWUMI, a public affairs analyst, wrote from Abuja.