High Stakes in Nigeria's Presidential Election

ABUJA, Nigeria -- Nigerians head to the polls this weekend for a crucial election.

With a Christian and Muslim candidate vying for the presidency, the outcome could test the unity of this important African country.

After months of campaigning, polls show the race a dead heat. Some 68 million Nigerians have registered to vote.

Nigeria's current president, Goodluck Jonathan, is a Christian from the south. His challenger, Muhammadu Buhari, is a Muslim from the north.

"We voted for Goodluck Jonathan in 2011," Buhari supporter Osaduhun Oluwadare told CBN News. "All Nigeria needed him then, but now we need change."

"We want him [Jonathan] to finish what he has started for Nigeria because since he has been there, there has been a lot of transformation," Joy Eze said.

The election was supposed to take place on February 14, but it was postponed to this weekend because of security concerns over repeated attacks by the radical Islamist group Boko Haram.

With the election rescheduled for March 28, there's been a lot of debate in the national newspapers as to whether the date should have been changed in the first place.

What's clear is that many Nigerians are concerned about security conditions, not just in Abuja, but across the country. They're concerned whether the elections can take place without bloodshed.

The last time Jonathan and Buhari campaigned for the presidency in 2011, more than 700 churches were burned down, hundreds of Christians killed, and thousands of Christian businesses and homes destroyed, mainly by Buhari's Islamic supporters.

Security is still a big worry. Nigeria is fighting a six-year Islamic insurgency by Boko Haram. It has killed more than 13,000 people while trying to turn Nigeria into an Islamic state.

"That is the reason we need God's intervention because He's the only one that can save us," one Christian woman told CBN News. "He's the only one that can actually do something about this situation."

During the past six weeks, a multinational force led by Nigerian troops recaptured most of the towns in the northeast held by Boko Haram.

But the group's mass kidnapping of more than 500 women and children near the border with Niger was a reminder of the group's potency despite the military offensive.

Earlier this month, it swore allegiance to the Islamic State.

Religion will be a big factor in the election. Nigeria is split down the middle. The south is Christian. The north is Muslim.

Jonathan's base is largely in the prosperous oil-rich south. Buhari's is in the north, which is also Boko Haram's stronghold.

While Jonathan has brought some economic stability to the country during his time in office, some say his indecisiveness in dealing with Boko Haram could potentially hurt him with voters.

Buhari has promised to tackle corruption if elected, but his Islamist leanings are cause for concern. He once called for the implementation of Sharia law in Nigeria.

The stakes this weekend could not be higher. Nigeria is Africa's most populous country. It has the largest economy on the continent and produces more oil than any other nation in Africa.

The outcome of the election and any potential violence will be felt far beyond its borders.