Africa's largest oil producer, divided roughly in half between Christians and Mohammedans and hit by outbursts of violence in recent months, will elect a new legislature, president and state governors over three successive weekends.Many observers say the stakes are nothing short of whether the West African powerhouse can finally begin to chart a course that will allow it to live up to its huge potential, more than 50 years after independence from Britain.
"Anything short of free and fair elections will impede Nigerian progress," said Thompson Ayodele, head of the Initiative for Public Policy Analysis think tank.
Parliamentary elections will occur on Saturday, followed by the presidential vote on April 9 and governorship and state assembly ballots on April 16.
The ruling Peoples Democratic Party has won every presidential vote since Nigeria returned to civilian rule in 1999, but there are signs that each of the three elections this year could be more competitive than usual.
President Goodluck Jonathan
... 14th President of Nigeria. He was Governor of Bayelsa State from 9 December 2005 to 28 May 2007, and was sworn in as Vice President on 29 May 2007. Jonathan is a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). He is a lover of nifty hats, which makes him easily recognizable unless someone else in the room is wearing a neat chapeau...
, a Christian and the first head of state from the oil-producing Niger Delta, is the clear favourite.
But his candidacy has upset sections of the north, where many feel it is their region's turn to rule.
His main challenger is seen as ex-military ruler Muhammadu Buhari, a Mohammedan from the north.