By OUR REPORTER with Agency report

The tussle over the leadership of the Tijjaniyya Islamic Religious Movement is not over yet.

The tacit recognition by President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday, of a faction of the sect which paid a courtesy on President Buhari in the Presidential Villa Abuja following a well-publicised media report.

According to reports, the team that visited Buhari identified Sheikh Muhammadul Mahy Niass, a Senegalese as the world leader of the Tijjaniyya sect and Sheikh Dahiru Usman as the leader of the Tijjaniyya in Nigeria,

However, two weeks ago, two factions of the sect appointed former emir of Kano and former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Muhammad Sanusi II, as the leader of the Tijaniyya Islamic sect in Nigeria. He was appointed the caliph at its annual gathering in Sokoto.

The appointment, which was made during the annual festival of the sect, is seen as both a spiritual and temporal elevation of the deposed emir in many quarters.

But shortly after the announcement, Sanusi II and many of his adherents converged on the Gawon Nama private residence of Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State, where they worshipped for about two hours.

Muhammadu Sanusi I, father of the deposed Kano emir was the first leader of the sect in Nigeria.

News Express gathered that the origin of the Tijaniyya sect dates back to the 1830s, and was reportedly introduced to Nigeria by the Sokoto caliphate.

But due to leadership tussles over the years, the sect broke into two factions in Nigeria after his death, with a faction led by Isiyaka Rabiu, and another led by Dahiru Bauchi.

The reception of Sheikh Muhammadul Mahy Niass and Sheikh Dahiru Usman by President Buhari, could be an indication that Muhammad Sanusi II is not recognised as the leader of Tijaniyya sect in Nigeria by the Presidency.

Welcoming the factional world leaders of the Tijjaniyya Islamic Religious Movement, President Buhari thanked the Movement for their profuse prayers for an end to the civil war and the reunification of Nigeria.

Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu said the President recalled that in the 30 months of the civil war, Nigerians on both sides lost numerous lives and prayed that never again shall we experience such.

Shehu said: “President Buhari recalled the lives lost to the 30-month civil war in Nigeria and prayed that never again shall the country witness such”.

He quoted Buhari as paying tributes to the martyrs of the civil war.

In his speech, the sectional leader of the Tijjaniyya in Nigeria, Sheikh Dahiru Usman described the sect as the largest with 70 million followers across the globe and prayed for continued peace and blessings for the country.

On his part, Sheikh Niass said he had come to formally introduce himself as the new leader to the government and people of Nigeria.

He prayed for peace, unity and the greatness of Nigeria.

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