I usually see anti-religionists use the correlation between extremely poor countries and high levels of religiosity as evidence that the poverty these countries face is as a result of high levels of religious adherence. They usually make statements like: The reason Nigeria is economically wretched is because Nigerians are very religious and if Nigeria becomes less religious poverty levels will decrease.

The truth however is that high levels of religiosity doesn't lead to poverty. The reverse is actually the case. The more a society becomes poor the more religious the denizens of that society become. This is because religion acts as a comforting mechanism for the poor and dispossessed. It acts as a form of support during times of need and difficulty. It also promises a solution to various life's problems most of which are undergirded by lack of financial resources.
As a society becomes richer people tend to not require religion as much because most of their needs are met and hence the support and promises religion offers becomes irrelevant.

So religion isn't the cause of Nigeria's poverty. The problem is our economic condition. When our economic situation is addressed through the tools of good governance, proper policies and increased economic sovereignty, then poverty levels will decrease and levels of religiosity would inexorably reduce.

I am actually of the opinion that the high level of religiosity that we have in Nigeria is actually more advantageous that it is disadvantageous. Societies with high levels of poverty tend to have high levels of crime. Although the level of crime currently in Nigeria is high, if religion was erased, it would be way higher because lots of people aren't committing crime simply because their religions proscribe crime.