Movement in any direction can appear to be progress amidst the status quo, whatever the roots and aims of this impulse. Nigerian society, which is burdened by widespread bribery and poverty, exemplifies this simple idea. On the one hand its income is cornered by tycoons and rulers and on the other hand the buoyant black market reveals the paradoxes of the world's tenth largest oil-producer as its cities suffer from a shortage of fuel. Over the last ten years, the country has become a new cradle for religious extremism, primarily due to the outcome of the use of religion by Nigerian politicians.

While the Nigerian Constitution calls for the federal state to be secular in nature, ten years ago the federal state of Zamfara, localized in the mainly Muslim north of the country, declared the implementation of Shariah law. This announcement came just after the election of the Christian President Olusegun Obasanjo, which put an end to 15 years of military governments and created the hope of a new era of democracy in Nigeria. Beyond the constitutionnal issues raised by this decision, the popular aspiration for a more ethical society as a way to break free of the social, moral and economic quicksand, was one of the key factors behind this change. In fact, Shariah appears to be a kind of guide for everyday life, drawing a path that people should follow in order to respect morals. Hence, proclaiming Shariah was supposed to be a way to control political leaders’ actions, and to struggle against bribery and poverty and lead to a redistribution of the income of the very lucrative oil industry. Nowadays this industry stirs up recurrent conflicts on the shores of the country. However, according to the Nigerian people, the call for the implemention of Shariah was not sparked by religious preoccupations, but rather by the hope to establish a new social order in an amoral society. In a more religious context, the work of the Pentecostal church should be highlighted in this regard. Throughout the 1990s the work of this church expanded considerably and the church now offers religious solutions to issues such as unemployment or health problems by emphasizing the miraculous and saving character of such deeds.

Such a religious aspiration was a godsend for the political leaders, who have overwhelmingly stormed this electoral field in order to lay their hands on votes. Although this may seem a rather cynical viewpoint the fact is that about ten years after the proclamation of Shariah in several states, especially ones in the north of the country, the situation seems to be at least as immoral as before, and the plight of the people is just as difficult. It is also noteworthy that several Islamic groups have underlined the lack of legitimity that these political leaders have to impose Shariah precisely because they do not have any religious or moral titles to justify this action. Thus, instead of being a solution, religion has become a politicians' tool.

Nevertheless, several steps have been taken to make Shariah a reality, from the use of corporal punishment to the ban on gender mixing in public places, especially in the state of Kano, where men and women are no longer allowed to share the same car or bus, an added obstacle in a city which already suffers from a lack of public transport and fuel. A religious police force has been created to ensure that such measures are enforced. Nonetheless, these reforms appear to be superficial because it is not by renovating the front of a house with shaky foundations that you prevent it from collapsing. Thus, beyond the highlighting of religious changes and more precisely of their radical facet, the immutability of the social and economic situation in Nigeria still fuels a hopelessness which could become dangerous if it is radicalised.

The implementation of Shariah in its radical form may appear to be a threat to the Christian community which mainly lives in the south of the country, but which is also scattered throughout the north of Nigeria. In this way, the numerous interreligious rows which have followed the instauration of Shariah in several states illustrates this hazard, and a confessionnal map of the country seems to show a growing gap between a mainly Muslim north and a mainly Christian south.

Moreover, the fact that after ten years of democracy, the situation in Nigeria has not improved at all could inspire mistrust in the population and lead the Nigerian people to put their trust in military leaders, which would be a real political regression.

Finally, some radical religious movements could make the most of the gloominess of the current social situation, by appealing to a youth that believes it has no future. Such a movement could offer a kind of perspective of change for the future, and could benefit from the changes toward Islam, whatever the real aim behind them, because it would contrast with the stagnation of society. The recent rows in the north of the country and the Nigerian army's attacks on the region against some extremist groups make this risk a serious possibility in the coming years.

Religion does not necessarily breed extremism. On the contrary, religion could provide a solution for the country, by leading to the entrenchment of a more ethical society. Nevertheless, after a decade without evolution and persistent poverty, the temptation of radicalization is a distinct possibility, because any change may be seen as better than nothing. Oil reserves are no more than a pipe dream for the population, the black gold could prove to be a curse for future generations, and religious extremism is a shelter from bribery and poverty. Such a situation would be harmful for Nigeria, and also exists nowadays in the world's 13^th oil-producing country, Algeria, where poverty and unemployment, in other words, the absence of any future for the youth, and Islamism walk beside the evasive river of oil.