Nairobi, Shawwal 10, 1436, July 26, 2015, SPA -- US President Barack Obama on Sunday urged Kenyans to help end endemic corruption in a speech to the nation that also focused on the need for gender equality and national unity, dpa reported. Corruption was tolerated across Kenyan society and seen as "a normal state of affairs," Obama told 5,000 invited guests, who included representatives from civil society and schools, human rights activists and prominent media personalities. "Corruption costs Kenyans 250,000 jobs every year because every shilling paid as a bribe could be put into a job," Obama said to massive applause in Nairobi's Safaricom arena. Kenya, which with 45 million citizens is one of Africa's most populous nations, ranks 145 out of 175 countries on the advocacy group Transparency International's corruption index. --SPA 15:29 LOCAL TIME 12:29 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w