To be fair, your problem isn't with Odamex itself, as just about everyone else is able to compile it on their respective platforms just fine, especially linux variants. Your problem is more at the base of things like ensuring libs are set up right and such. This is a bit trickier of a proposition as it requires someone who uses ubuntu, visits here enough to notice and would have an answer to your problem.
Have you tried visiting ubuntu boards or sdl boards or any other sources?