Done P. Dabale


Done Peter Dabale was the founder of the United Methodist Church in Nigeria. During the time he was a bishop, membership in the church increased from 10,000 to 400,000.

Education

Dabale was born in Nyabalang-Yotti of the Jereng District of Adamawa State in Nigeria. He came from a polygamous family. Dabale’s mother died when he was an infant; subsequently, he was raised by one of his father’s six wives. Dabale senior was a diviner and herbalist, who according to Yotti/Bali Traditional Religion was believed to receive his wisdom from the gods and ancestors who interact with the living. Dabale was to inherit his father’s leadership position; however, while a student in the city Dabale came in contact with Christians and converted. Some of Dabale’s nuclear and extended family members still practice the religion of their ancestors, coexisting with newer religions of Christianity and Islam. Dabale married Kerike C. Dabale, evangelist, farmer and housewife, and they had eleven children.

Awards

Dabale was officer in charge at the Experimental Farm Center at Numan and as a nurse Dabale served as ward assistant at Numan General Hospital, Adamawa State in Nigeria.
He held numerous secular and religious leadership positions in Nigeria, holding administrative positions and teaching classes in the areas of agriculture, and theology: