Baroka is portrayed as the wisest character throughout the play The Lion and the Jewel and there are several scenes which depict his cleverness. In the first act entitled "Morning," the village girls participate in the "dance of the Lost Traveler" which depicts how the foreign photographer makes his way to the village of Ilujinle. After taking pictures of Sidi bathing, the lost traveler incurs the anger of the villagers, who bring him in front of the Odan tree. Baroka understands that the foreign photographer has the ability to give his village prestige and treats him with benevolence. Baroka cleverly gets him drunk and encourages him to take many photographs. The photographs end up in a magazine which portrays Ilujinle in a positive light.
Later on in the play, Lakunle explains how Baroka cleverly influenced the railroad surveyor to avoid running the tracks through the village of Ilujinle by giving him gifts and money. The surveyor "miraculously" looks at his map and declares that the ground is unsuitable to support the weight of a railroad. Baroka successfully foils the Public Works project by using his cleverness to bride the surveyor.
Baroka is also depicted as being a clever individual by successfully spreading a false rumor about his impotence to lure Sidi to his home where he convinces Sidi to sleep with him. Baroka knows that his wife, Sadiku, will gossip, which is why he tells her that he is impotent and no longer a man. Sadiku tells Sidi, and Sidi believes that Baroka is no longer a threat to her. When Sidi arrives at the Bale's palace, Baroka shows her a machine that makes stamps and promises Sidi that her face will be on every stamp leaving Ilujinle. Baroka cleverly uses Sidi's vanity against her and his plan works to perfection.
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