Apati was the 19th Century Egba chief, one of the warlords who dominated the political life of the tribe from the time when the people newly settled at Abeokuta to the time when the first principal King of the town was chosen. Apati became a powerful figure in succession to the statesmanlike Sodeke but he was nothing like him. The topmost military title of the time, Balogun, had been accorded him in a palliative move to avert the civil war he was about to start. Recognizing there was no honor in this offer (because Ayikondu from Igbehin had earlier been made Balogun above him), Apati declined, but sought higher legitimacy by purchasing the then foreign title of Basorun from the Basorun of Ibadan, Oluyole, thereby becoming the first Basorun of the Egba people in 1845.
Apati attempted unsuccessfully to conspire against Akitoye, the Oba of Lagos who Kosoko had in that time, deposed and who had run to Abeokuta for refuge. It is believed by some that Apati was responsible for the arson committed against residents of Ake quarters of Abeokuta who opposed his plot. He died in 1849.