Samuel Óghale Oboh is a Canadian architect, manager, leader and the 2015 President of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. Oboh is the first African-Canadian to be elected as President of the Alberta Chapter of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada in 2007. In 2015, Alberta Venture named him as one of the Top 50 Most Influential People in Alberta. In 2016, Oboh assumed a diplomatic role in Canada with his as the Honorary Consul for the Republic of Botswana] in Canada.
As design architect, Oboh worked on many projects while he was with FMA Architects Southern Africa, IBI Group and Kasian Architecture. He is a registered architect licensed in the state of Texas, United States, in the province of Alberta, Canada, and previously in South Africa. He contributed to projects such as the International Law Enforcement Academy in Botswana, for the Government of the United States of America, the Alberta Legislature Centre Redevelopment Master Plan where he worked on Alberta’s most significant heritage site. Similarly, within a short time as Government of Canada – PWGSC Western Region’s most senior architect, Oboh led the establishment of a new Architecture and Engineering Centre of Expertise. As an architect licensed in multiple jurisdictions, Oboh was named as one of the 15 most influential African - Canadians in 2013. He was the Regional Director for Alberta and Northwest Territories with Architecture Canada from 2011 to 2014. Oboh is a member of the American Institute of Architects and Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada and is regional manager of the Architecture and Engineering Centre of Expertise with the Government of Canada. He emigrated from Botswana to Canada in 2003 and shortly after 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 many initiatives that raised the stature of architecture including the curation of Alberta Architecture as part of Alberta’s government presentation at the 2006 Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, DC. In 2015, Oboh was featured Dolce Vita Luxury Magazine. Oboh has served as Visiting Lecturer to the Department of Architecture at Durban University of Technology and the University of Pretoria, South Africa. He also served as a studio design critic/adjunct reviewer at the University of Calgary and Carleton University in Ottawa – Canada and was a Chartered Architect with the Royal Institute of British Architects from 2000-2007. On May 16, 2015, Oboh received the Presidential Medal from the American Institute of Architects and a Presidential honour from the Australian Institute of Architects as an honorary Member.
