[2] The play chronicles how Baroka, the lion, fights with the modern Lakunle over the right to marry Sidi, the titular Jewel.
[3] Lakunle is portrayed as the civilized antithesis of Baroka and unilaterally attempts to modernize his community and change its social conventions for no reason other than the fact that he can.
A review by Naijabanquet describes The Lion and the Jewel as "a masterpiece that successfully combines the concept of literature as a tool both for socio-cultural activism and shining spotlight on aesthetics."
The play opens with a school teacher, Lakunle, who is teaching a class when Sidi walks past carrying a pail of water on her head.
Lakunle also insults her saying that her brain is smaller than his because of her feminine gender (which proves his semi-literacy, mentioned at first), making her angry.
Eventually, it is revealed that Sidi does not want to marry him because Lakunle refuses to pay her bride-price as it is uncivilized, outrageous custom.
As the village girls enter, they play "The Dance of the Lost Traveller", which features the sudden arrival of a photographer in their midst some time ago.
They tease the traveller in the play, calling his motorbike "the devil's own horse" and the camera that he used to take pictures "the one-eyed box".
Four girls act the "devil-horse", a youth is selected to play the snake, and Lakunle becomes the Traveller.
He seeks to be excused to teach Primary Four Geography but Sidi informs him that the village is on holiday due to the arrival of the photographer/traveller.
The Dance of the Lost Traveller The four girls kneeled on the ground, forming the wheels of the car.
He hears a girl misbehaving, but attributes it to sunstroke, so he throws the bottle that he was drinking from in that general direction.
The cast assembles behind him, pretending to be villagers in an ugly mood hauling him to the maram in the town centre.
Sadiku took that as a yes, but Sidi dashed her hopes, saying that since her fame had spread to Lagos and the rest of the world, she deserves more than that.
Sadiku presses on, dissembling that Baroka has sworn not to take any more wives after her and that she would be his favourite and would get many privileges, including being able to sleep in the palace rather than one of the outhouses.
However, Sidi sees through her lies, and tells her that she knew that he just wanted fame "as the one man who has possessed 'the jewel of Ilujinle'".
She says that in the picture, she looks absolutely beautiful while he simply looks like a ragged, blackened piece of saddle leather: she is youthful but he is spent.
Sadiku changes techniques, saying that if Sidi does not want to be his wife, will she be kind enough to attend a small feast in her honour at his house that night.
Lakunle interjects, informing them that Baroka was known for his wiliness, particularly when he managed to foil the Public Works attempt to build a railroad through Ilujinle.
Baroka bribed the surveyor for the route to move the railroad much farther away as "the earth is most unsuitable, could not possibly support the weight of a railway engine".
Baroka pretends to doubt his manliness and asks Sadiku to massage the soles of his feet.
As they are about to resume dancing, Sidi states her plans to visit Baroka for his feast and toy with him.
Lakunle states his grand plans to modernize the area by abolishing the bride-price, building a motor-road through the town and bring city ways to isolated Ilujinle.
He laments that Lakunle had made his servants form an entity called the Palace Workers' Union.
He asks if Ailatu was at her usual place, and was disappointed to find out that she had not left him yet despite scolding her severely.
As she admires the pictures of her in the magazine, Baroka happens to mention that he does not hate progress, only its nature which made "all roofs and faces look the same".
Lakunle is overcome with emotion, and after at first expressing deep despair, he offers to marry her instead, with no bride-price since she is not a virgin after all.
Even the modern Lakunle falls victim to this, by looking down on Sidi for having a smaller brain, and later by thinking it will be easier to marry her once she's lost her virginity, since no dowry was required in such a situation.
This in turn is resisted by the tribal people who see no point in obtaining an education as it served them no use in their daily lives.Thiis theme also displayed in the story where Lakunle try to teach Sidi how to use cutleries.
Finally, there is the importance of song and dance as a form of spreading information in a world where the fastest route of communication is by foot.