Members of the African Union are set to meet next week, to discuss setting up joint military action against Boko Haram in Nigeria.
Ghana's President John Mahama called on African Union leaders to initiate a "specific plan of action” to "deal permanently" with the Islamist militant group, days after they were accused of massacring up to 2,000 people in one attack.
Earlier this week, Amnesty International released satellite imagery showing the scale of the attack on the towns of Baga and Doron Baga, in what it termed the “deadliest massacre” by Boko Haram.
"This has to end. We have to make this terror end," said Mahama. "We must find a way to act together to share information, to synchronise our strategies, to pool our resources in order to rid the entire African continent of terrorism.”
He added Boko Haram’s attacks were "increasingly getting to the point where probably a regional or a multinational force is coming into consideration".
"We cannot stand by silently, idly waiting for the international community to intervene on our behalf," said the Ghanaian president.
Earlier this month the Nigerian army suffered a setback after Boko Haram seized a town and key multinational military base which hosted the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF), made up of troops from Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon.