Samuel Óghalé Oboh (born March 27, 1971) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

architect, manager, leader, former Vice President - Architecture at AECOM Canada Architects Ltd - a Fortune 500 Company and the 2015 President of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC). Sam Oboh (as he is commonly known) is the first Canadian of African descent to be elected as president of this Canadian Royal Institute - a feat that the erstwhile director of the Institute of African Studies at

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning World ...

- Ottawa, the late professor

Pius Adesanmi Pius Adebola Adesanmi (27 February 1972 – 10 March 2019) was a Nigerian-born Canadian professor, writer, literary critic, satirist, and columnist. He was the author of '' Naija No Dey Carry Last'', a 2015 collection of satirical essays. Adesan ...

described as "a history-making event on many fronts." In 2021, at the Rio General Assembly, Oboh was elected as the Vice President for Region 3 of the Paris-based International Union of Architects (UIA) - a body recognized by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

, working to unify architects, influence public policies, and advance architecture to serve the needs of society. Oboh was elevated to the College of Fellows of the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...

at an investiture ceremony held in New York on June 22, 2018. The citation read at the investiture ceremony noted that "Oboh exemplifies the ideals of stewardship excellence by intensifying public advocacy - inspiring diversity, promoting good design and championing transformative initiatives for public good." With his investiture, Oboh qualified to use the FAIA designation. Only about 3% of architects in the United States of America (and beyond) have this unique distinction. Oboh is a recipient of a number of awards and recognitions including the NCBN Professional Excellence of the Year Award in 2018, and the 2016 Excellence Magazine Award for Leadership. He was named as one of the 150 Extraordinary Canadians - Visionaries who Inspire the Next Generation Canadians (in commemoration of the

sesquicentennial An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded in a previous year, and may also refer to the commemoration or celebration of that event. The word was first used for Catholic feasts to commemorate saints. ...

Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Canada, Dom ...

); and also named one of the Top 50 Most Influential People in Alberta by Alberta Venture. Since late 2015, Oboh assumed a diplomatic role - serving as the highest ranking representative and Consul for the Republic of Botswana in Canada.

Early life and education

Oboh was born in

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, in 1971, the third of six children. His father, Johnson Oboh, was a mechanical engineering technician for a Swiss company - UTC whose work made them live in various parts of the country - Lagos, Maiduguri, and Yola, among other places. Oboh graduated high school at the head of his 1987 class with the best result of his set at Government Day Secondary School, Army Barracks, Yola in North Eastern part of Nigeria. He was immediately accepted to the Bendel State University (now

Ambrose Alli University Ambrose Alli University (AAU) is a state-owned university in Edo State, Nigeria. It was established in 1981 by the governor of Bendel State (now Edo and Delta States), Ambrose Folorunsho Alli. Initially known as Bendel State University, sub ...

) in the South at the age of 16 to study architecture. Oboh completed his bachelor's degree (B.Sc.) earning the highest grades of all architectural students in his 1992 graduating class with an

Upper Second-Class Honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...

. He then proceeded to the

Ahmadu Bello University Ahmadu Bello University Zaria is a federal government research university in Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. ABU was founded on 4 October 1962, as the pioneer university in Northern Nigeria. It was founded and named after the Sardauna of Sokoto, Al ...

Zaria Zaria is a metropolitan city in Nigeria which at the present time lies within four (4) local government areas in Kaduna state; it happens to be the capital city to the Zazzau Emirate Council, and one of the original seven Hausa city-states ...

to complete his Master of Science degree in architecture in 1996. As a graduate student at the Ahmadu Bello University, Sam Oboh attended the Africa 2000 Conference on Architecture in 1995 at the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

, convened by the Erstwhile Director of the School of Architecture, Planning & Geomatics, Professor Ivor Prinsloo who was also one of the people to conceive

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

's V&A Waterfront. The brief stint at the University of Cape Town would later reflect in Oboh's career - marking his introduction to Africa's southern region. The Cape Town stint represents a springboard for Oboh's architectural career - heralded by the chance meeting between Oboh and Wouter Gildenhuys - a fellow architect and the then Head of Department of Architecture at

ML Sultan Technikon ML Sultan is located in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and has now merged with Technikon Natal to form the Durban University of Technology. History The institution was named after Mohammed Lappa Sultan who donated funds in 1941 to establis ...

(now Durban University of Technology) in Durban, Kwazulu Natal - leading to Oboh's first job in South Africa. Oboh will later complete a second master's degree - a Master of Arts in Communication & Technology (with focus on Architectural Communication) in 2010 from the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

- where he was a recipient of the Herbert Marshall McLuhan Graduate Student Award in the Faculty of Extension.

Career

Following his graduation from the Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria where he obtained his Master of Science degree in architecture in 1996 and the subsequent completion of his national youth service program in Katsina (near the border with

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languages Shortly after in 1998, Oboh was appointed as an Adjunct Lecturer at the

(now Durban University of Technology) teaching African Architecture. He will later join FMA Architects Southern Africa in the later part of 1998 as a design architect in their Gaborone Botswana office working on various institutional projects. Oboh become FMA's Resident Architect on the Botswana Police College project in Otse and the International Law Enforcement Academy - which he led and designed (following the enactment of the project from a bilateral agreement signed on July 24, 2000 between the

Festus Mogae Festus Gontebanye Mogae (born 21 August 1939) is a Botswana politician and economist who served as the third President of Botswana from 1998 to 2008. He succeeded Quett Masire as President in 1998 and was re-elected in October 2004; after ten y ...

- led Government of Botswana and the Government of the United States of America - under the

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

administration. From

Otse Otse is a village in the South-East District of Botswana. It is located 60 km south of Gaborone, along the Gaborone– Lobatse road and close to the border with South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Afr ...

, Oboh headed northwards to become the Resident Architect on a $150-million District Hospital in Maun, ‘gateway’ to the Okavango Delta. The Maun District Hospital was designed to serve the entire North-West District of Botswana (

Ngamiland The North-West District or Ngamiland is one of the first-level administrative subdivisions of Botswana. For census and administrative purposes Ngamiland is subdivided into Ngamiland East, Ngamiland West and Ngamiland Delta (Okavango). It is gove ...

) which includes the Okavango Delta - an area so lush and vibrant with wildlife that in June 2014, it became the 1000th site inscribed on the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage List A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNES ...

and many consider the area to be a true paradise. Oboh emigrated to Canada in December 2003 and immediately joined IBI Group Architects - where he obtained his LEED Accredited Professional designation and commenced working on projects such as the Edmonton Police Service - Southeast Division Station with Peter Bull and Peter Semchuk. Specifically, Oboh worked on the sustainability aspect of the Southeast Division Police Station project and led the

LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...

documentation / submission component that enabled the 4,300 m² police station project achieve

Gold status. The South East Division Station became the first project in the City of Edmonton to achieve a LEED Gold status and also the first police station in North America to achieve the

Gold standard. Working closely with Peter Bull, Oboh was also IBI Group's Project Architect for the $118-million City of Red Deer Civic Yard (made up of a number of institutional, industrial-type buildings), constructed on a industrial site. Oboh and the IBI Group Team approached the Civic Yards Project with sustainability in mind - with three buildings on the site (the Administration Block, the Warehouse / stores / transit garages and the Vehicle car Wash have been designed to LEED standards. Oboh joined Kasian Architecture as an associate in 2007 and he became a Principal of the firm in 2016. Through his work, Oboh believes design excellence can be achieved through the integration of architectural practice with research and academia. He exemplified his beliefs on projects such as the Alberta Legislature Centre Redevelopment Master Plan where as Lead Architect, he led his team to capture the spirit of Alberta's most significant heritage site in a variety of creative and innovative forms - thereby evoking a sense of place, pride, ownership and community in all Albertans. Oboh led business development efforts - championing, securing and working on projects such as the redevelopment of the Alberta Legislature Grounds, Royal Alberta Museum of History, and the LEED Gold Edmonton Federal Building project (preserved to demonstrate Government of Alberta's commitment to sustainable buildings. From 2010 to 2016, Oboh joined the Department of

Public Works and Government Services Canada Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC; french: Services publics et Approvisionnement Canada)''Public Services and Procurement Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Public Works ...

(now Public Services and Procurement Canada) as prime architect and Regional Manager of the Architecture and Engineering Centre of Expertise in the Western Region - composed of

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' ...

and the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

. He led the establishment of a new Architecture and Engineering Centre of Expertise, encompassing over 50 professionals, administrative staff and technical experts. Oboh created initiatives such as the Stewardship Excellence Protocol, aimed at fostering a culture of excellence on federal government projects and facilities.the Government of Canada. Licensed as an architect in multiple jurisdictions including the state of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, United States, and the Canadian provinces of

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, and

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Oboh is the International Region Representative to the American Institute of Architects' College of Fellows and a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC). He was previously licensed in Botswana and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

and was a Chartered Architect member of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) from 2000 to 2007. On May 16, 2015, Oboh was awarded the Presidential Medal by the

in Atlanta Georgia and a Presidential honour from the

Australian Institute of Architects (United we advance architecture) , predecessor = , merged = , successor = , formation = , extinction = , status = Professional body; members association , headquarters = L1/41 Exhibition St, Melbourne , leader_title = CEO , leader_ ...

(RAIA) as an honorary Member. Oboh is a thought leader and regular speaker at several international conferences and forums around the world. - including

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, London - England, Paris - France, Brussels - Belgium, Berlin - Germany,

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

, Seoul - South Korea, Lahore - Pakistan, Tokyo - Japan,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, N'djamena - Chad, Lagos - Nigeria, Kampala - Uganda, Gaborone - Botswana, Maseru - Lesotho, and various cities in

. He has held an adjunct lecturer / visiting studio critic role with various universities including the University of Calgary, University of Toronto, Carleton University, and South Africa's

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was ...

and Durban University of Technology. In 2006 he jointly led the establishment of Canada's first local chapter of the RAIC in Alberta, where he served as president in 2007/2008. During his tenure, Oboh led and championed a number of architectural advocacy initiatives including the curation of Alberta Architecture as part of the Government of Alberta presentation at the 2006 Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, DC. In 2017, Oboh collaborated with Berlin-based architect

Francis Kéré Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places *Rural Mu ...

to lead the design of the proposed multimillion-dollar African Cultural Centre in Alberta – Canada.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oboh, Samuel 1971 births Living people Nigerian emigrants to Canada Black Canadian businesspeople Ahmadu Bello University alumni University of Alberta alumni Architects from Lagos Ambrose Alli University alumni 21st-century Canadian architects 21st-century Nigerian architects

Early life and education

Career

See also

References